Rainbow Image of a Dusty Star
Resembling a rippling pool illuminated by underwater lights, the Egg Nebula offers astronomers a special look at the normally invisible dust shells swaddling an aging star. These dust layers, extending over one-tenth of a light-year from the star, have an onionskin structure that forms concentric rings around the star. A thicker dust belt, running almost vertically through the image, blocks off light from the central star. Twin beams of light radiate from the hidden star and illuminate the pitch-black dust, like a shining flashlight in a smoky room.
The Egg Nebula is located 3, 000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in September and October 2002.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0309a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 3 April 2003, 16:00 |
| Size: | 1720 x 1020 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Egg Nebula, V1610 Cyg |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Nebulae Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 1400 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
606 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optical POL120V |
Hubble Space Telescope ACS | |
| Optical POL60V |
Hubble Space Telescope ACS | |
| Optical POL0V |
Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
