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Planetary Nebulae – A More Artistic Arrangement (with Title)

These four planetary nebulae imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope all lie in our Milky Way Galaxy. Their distances from Earth are all roughly the same, about 7,000 light-years. The snapshots were taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 2007. Like snowflakes, planetary nebulae show a wide variety of shapes, indicative of the complex processes that occur at the end of stellar life.

He 2-47, at top, left, is dubbed the "starfish," because of its shape. The six lobes of gas and dust, which resemble the legs of a starfish, suggest that He 2-47 puffed off material at least three times in three different directions. Each time, the star fired off a narrow pair of opposite jets of gas. He 2-47 is in the southern constellation Carina.

IC 4593, at top, right, displays a prominent pair of jets on opposite sides of the dying star, ending in red knots of glowing nitrogen gas. IC 4593 is in the northern constellation Hercules.

NGC 5307, at bottom, left, displays a spiral pattern, which may have been caused by the dying star wobbling as it expelled jets of gas in different directions. NGC 5307 resides in the southern constellation Centaurus.

NGC 5315, the chaotic-looking nebula at bottom, right, reveals an x-shaped structure. This shape suggests that the star ejected material in two different outbursts in two distinct directions. Each outburst unleashed a pair of diametrically opposed outflows. NGC 5315 lies in the southern constellation Circinus.

This Hubble Heritage Team photo reflects a more artistic arrangement of the planetary nebulae.

About the Data

Data Description
Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposals 11090 and 11093: K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, and W. Januszewski (Hubble Heritage Team/STScI). High-level Science Products are available from the Heritage MAST webpage.
Instrument
InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
HST>WFPC2
Exposure Dates
Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
February, 2007
Filters
FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
F502N ([O III]), F656N (H alpha), and F658N ([N II])

Object Name
Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
He 2-47, NGC 5315, IC 4593, NGC 5307
Object Description
Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
Planetary Nebulae
Release Date
September 11, 2007
Science Release
Hubble Captures Stars Going Out in Style
Read the release
Credit
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Each of these images are a composite of many separate exposures made by the WFPC2 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F502N ([O III]) Green: F656N (H alpha) Red: F658N ([N II])

Related Images & Videos

Four planetary nebulas with compass and scale

Hubble Captures Stars Going Out in Style

The colorful, intricate shapes in these NASA Hubble Space Telescope images reveal how the glowing gas ejected by dying Sun-like stars evolves dramatically over time. These gaseous clouds, called planetary nebulae, are created when stars in the last stages of life cast off their...

He 2-47

NGC 5315

IC 4593

NGC 5307