Release Date: May 3, 2004 09:00 AM
A Dying Star Shrouded by a Blanket of Hailstones Forms the Bug Nebula (NGC 6302)
The Bug Nebula, NGC 6302, is one of the brightest and most extreme planetary nebulae known. The fiery, dying star at its center is shrouded by a blanket of icy hailstones. This NASA Hubble Wide Field Plantery Camera 2 image shows impressive walls of compressed gas, laced with trailing strands and bubbling outflows.
Object Names: NGC 6302, Bug Nebula
Image Type: Astronomical
Credit: NASA, ESA and A.Zijlstra (UMIST, Manchester, UK)
To learn more about this image go to:
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/nebula/pr2004046a/
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