Hubble's Planetary Nebula Gallery. A View of NGC 3918
NGC 3918 is in the constellation Centaurus and is about 3, 000 light-years from us. Its diameter is about 0.3 light-year. It shows a roughly spherical outer envelope but an elongated inner balloon inflated by a fast wind from the hot central star, which is starting to break out of the spherical envelope at the top and bottom of the image.
Credit:Howard Bond ( Space Telescope Science Institute), Robin Ciardullo (Pennsylvania State University) and NASA/ESA
About the Image
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 11478-5654, NGC 3918 | 
|---|---|
| Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary | 
| Distance: | 5000 light years | 
| Constellation: | Centaurus | 
| Category: | Nebulae | 
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 11 50 17.89 | 
|---|---|
| Position (Dec): | -57° 10' 56.64" | 
| Field of view: | 0.57 x 0.57 arcminutes | 
| Orientation: | North is 101.9° left of vertical | 
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope | 
|---|---|---|
| Optical V  | 606 nm | 
                
                    
                        Hubble Space Telescope
                    
                    
                         WFPC2  | 
| Optical I  | 814 nm | 
                
                    
                        Hubble Space Telescope
                    
                    
                         WFPC2  | 

