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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Planetary Nebula NGC 7027 in Infrared
Explanation: NGC 7027 is one of the smallest known planetary nebulae . Even so, NGC 7027 is 14,000 times larger than the Earth-Sun distance . Planetary nebula are so named because the first few discovered appeared similar to planets. Planetary nebula are actually dying stars, though, that have recently run out of nuclear fuel. The outer gaseous shells are expelled by an unknown process, frequently creating spectacular displays . In the above picture in infrared light , the hot central star is visible. Our Sun will become a planetary nebula in about 5 billion years.
| Date | March 25, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: W. B. Latter (SIRTF /Caltech) et al., NICMOS, HST, NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |