Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Helix Nebula: Ultraviolet, Visible and Infrared Views

Stars like our Sun end their lives by casting off their outer layers, briefly forming a spectacular "planetary nebula" like the Helix Nebula. In visible light, we see the glow of hot gases illuminated by a hot, compact core, known as a "white dwarf." Shifting into the near-infrared reveals the glow of more complex molecules formed in the outer shell. The mid-infrared glow highlights the warm (bright red) dust surrounding the white dwarf.

Optical: Hot gas ejected from a dying star glows.

Near-Infrared: Near-infrared light reveals cooler material.

Mid-far-Infrared: Warm dust is identified in mid-infrared light.

Infrared-Ultraviolet: The ultraviolet light traces the hot gas being expelled from the dying star.

  • Release Date
    November 12, 2018
  • Credit
    Optical: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO); Near-infrared: ESO, VISTA, J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit; Mid-far-infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech, K. Su (Univ. of Arizona); Ultraviolet: NASANASA, JPL-Caltech.

Downloads

  • 30 sec, 3840 × 2160, 30 FPS
    mp4 (19.2 MB)
  • 30 sec, 1920 × 1080, 30 FPS
    mp4 (15.06 MB)
  • 30 sec, 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (6.93 MB)
  • 30 sec, 640 × 360, 30 FPS
    mp4 (2.13 MB)
  • 60 sec, 3840 × 2160, 30 FPS
    mp4 (19.2 MB)
  • 60 sec, 1920 × 1080, 30 FPS
    mp4 (24.21 MB)
  • 60 sec, 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (11.01 MB)
  • 60 sec, 640 × 360, 30 FPS
    mp4 (3.43 MB)

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Hubble Science Highlights

Hubble Images

Hubble News