Demise in ice and fire
The Bug Nebula, NGC 6302, is one of the brightest and most extreme planetary nebulae known. At its centre lies a superhot, dying star smothered in a blanket of hailstones. A new Hubble image reveals fresh detail in the wings of this cosmic butterfly.
Most planetary nebulae are distinctive, but few are as extreme as NGC 6302, also known as the Bug Nebula. The fiery, dying star at its centre is shrouded by a blanket of icy hailstones.
Credit:
About the Image
| Id: | heic0407a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 29 April 2004, 10:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0407 |
| Size: | 1181 x 1476 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Bug Nebula, NGC 6302 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Nebulae Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 4000 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
| Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 | |
| Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 | |
| Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
Images
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