Helix Nebula: HST/CTIO Image

Esahubble_opo0432b_1024

esahubble_opo0432b December 16th, 2004

Credit: NASA, ESA, C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), and M. Meixner, P. McCullough, and G. Bacon ( Space Telescope Science Institute )

Looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to celestial objects like galaxies and nebulas. These objects are so far away that astronomers cannot see their three-dimensional structure. The Helix Nebula, for example, resembles a doughnut in colorful images. Earlier images of this complex object, the gaseous envelope ejected by a dying, sun-like star did not allow astronomers to precisely interpret its structure. One possible interpretation was that the Helix's form resembled a snake-like coil. Observations from several observatories, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, established that the Helix's structure is even more perplexing. Their evidence suggests that the Helix consists of two gaseous disks nearly perpendicular to each other.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0432b/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Helix Nebula IRAS 22267-2102 NGC 7293
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Planetary
Esahubble_opo0432b_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 22h 29m 40.4s
DEC = -20° 50’ 22.9”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CW
Field of View
21.0 x 13.9 arcminutes
Constellation
Aquarius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Hubble (ACS) Optical (H-alpha) 658.0 nm
Hubble (ACS) Optical (OIII) 502.0 nm
This image contains additional data captured by the Mosaic II Camera on the 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO).
Spectrum_base
Esahubble_opo0432b_1280
×
ID
opo0432b
Subject Category
B.4.1.3  
Subject Name
Helix Nebula, IRAS 22267-2102, NGC 7293
Credits
NASA, ESA, C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), and M. Meixner, P. McCullough, and G. Bacon ( Space Telescope Science Institute )
Release Date
2004-12-16T16:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0432b/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Band
Optical, Optical
Bandpass
H-alpha, OIII
Central Wavelength
658, 502
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
T
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
337.41847773, -20.8396893651
Reference Dimension
4731.0, 3129.0
Reference Pixel
2366.94281793, 1565.32255521
Scale
-7.3823537469e-05, 7.3823537469e-05
Rotation
-0.11999999999998666
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
opo0432b
Metadata Date
2004-12-13T17:07:51-05:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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