Southern Crab Nebula
A tempestuous relationship between an unlikely pair of stars may have created an oddly shaped, gaseous nebula that resembles an hourglass nestled within an hourglass.
The possible creators of these shapes cannot be seen at all in this Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2image. It's a pair of aging stars buried in the glow of the tiny, central nebula.
Credit:Romano Corradi, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain; Mario Livio, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.; Ulisse Munari, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova-Asiago, Italy; HugoSchwarz, Nordic Optical Telescope, Canarias, Spain; and NASA/ESA
About the Image
About the Object
| Name: | Hen 2-104, IRAS 14085-5112, Southern Crab Nebula |
|---|---|
| Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary |
| Distance: | 7000 light years |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical NII | 658 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |