APOD: 2009 November 6 - Ring Nebula Deep Field (original) (raw)

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.

2009 November 6

Ring Nebula Deep Field
Credit & Copyright: Vicent Peris(DSA /OAUV /PixInsight),Jack Harvey(DSA /SSRO),
Steve Mazlin(DSA /SSRO),Jose Luis Lamadrid(DSA /ceFca),Ana Guijarro(CAHA),RECTA,DSA.

Explanation: A familiar sight to sky enthusiasts with even a small telescope, the Ring Nebula (M57) is some 2,000 light-years away in the musicalconstellation Lyra. The central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep exposure - a collaborative effort combining data from three different telescopes -exploresthe looping filaments of glowing gas extending much farther from the nebula'scentral star. Of course, in thiswell-studied example of aplanetary nebula, the glowing material does not come from planets. Instead, the gaseous shroud represents outer layers expelled from a dying, sun-like star. This remarkable composite image includes narrowband image data recording the Ring's atomic hydrogen emission (shown as violet) in visible light and molecular hydrogen emission (shown as red) at near infrared wavelengths. The much more distant spiral galaxy IC 1296 is also visible at the upper right.

Tomorrow's picture: Stickney crater

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights apply.
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