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
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9738e |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 17 December 1997, 06:00 |
| Size: | 750 x 748 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 11478-5654, NGC 3918 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Nebulae Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 5000 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
606 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Infrared I |
814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
