Oct 2, 2024, 07:00 AM IST
The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra.
This type of nebula is formed when a star, during the last stages of its evolution before becomes a white dwarf, expels a vast luminous envelope of ionized gas into the surrounding interstellar space.
The NASA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the sharpest view yet of the most famous of all planetary nebulae: the Ring Nebula (M57).
Ring Nebula, is about 2,000 light-years away, and is best observed during August.
It was discovered by the French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in 1779, the Ring Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8.8.
This stunning, high-resolution Hubble image helped astronomers determine that the nebula’s shape is more complicated than initially thought.
Ring nebula, also known as M57, is tilted toward Earth so that astronomers see the ring face-on.
Credit: NASA