With beautiful colors and intricate patterns, the gas bubble known as NGC 2899 appears to float and flutter across the sky in this new image from ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) . This is the first time that an image of this object has been obtained with such great detail. Can you see the outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing against the background stars? The image is magnificent.
NGC 2899's gas fringes extend up to two light-years from its center, glowing brightly as the gas reaches temperatures above 10,000 degrees. These high temperatures cause the hydrogen gas in the nebula to glow in a reddish halo around the oxygen gas, which glows blue.
The cosmic butterfly is located between 3,000 and 6,500 light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation Vela, and has two central stars, believed to be responsible for its nearly symmetrical appearance.
It is one of ESO's cosmic jewels, an informative initiative with the intention of showing images of interesting, enigmatic or visually attractive objects with ESO's range of telescopes.
Reference: ESO
