VISTA’s look at the Helix Nebula

Eso_eso1205a_1024

eso_eso1205a January 19th, 2012

Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has captured this unusual view of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a planetary nebula located 700 light-years away. The coloured picture was created from images taken through Y, J and K infrared filters. While bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies, the telescope's infrared vision also reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are mostly obscured in visible images of the Helix. 

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1205a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Helix Nebula NGC 7293
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Planetary
Eso_eso1205a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 22h 29m 38.6s
DEC = -20° 50’ 14.0”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
37.5 x 37.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Aquarius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) Infrared (K) -
Red Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) Infrared (J) -
Orange Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) Infrared (K) -
Cyan Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) Infrared (Pseudocolour (J+Y)) -
Blue Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) Infrared (Y) -
Eso_eso1205a_1280
×
ID
eso1205a
Subject Category
B.4.1.3  
Subject Name
Helix Nebula, NGC 7293
Credits
ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
Release Date
2012-01-19T12:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1205a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy
Instrument
VIRCAM, VIRCAM, VIRCAM, VIRCAM, VIRCAM
Color Assignment
Red, Red, Orange, Cyan, Blue
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
K, J, K, Pseudocolour (J+Y), Y
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
337.410856, -20.837221
Reference Dimension
1280.0, 1280.0
Reference Pixel
642.837959404, 645.228279754
Scale
-0.00048842354, 0.00048842354
Rotation
-0.04872475159
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.2 revision 218+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.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
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso1205a
Metadata Date
2012-01-17T10:14:21+01:00
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In