Southern Crab Nebula
A tempestuous relationship between an unlikely pair of stars may have created an oddly shaped, gaseous nebula that resembles an hourglass nestled within an hourglass.
The possible creators of these shapes cannot be seen at all in this Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2image. It's a pair of aging stars buried in the glow of the tiny, central nebula.
Credit:Romano Corradi, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain; Mario Livio, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.; Ulisse Munari, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova-Asiago, Italy; HugoSchwarz, Nordic Optical Telescope, Canarias, Spain; and NASA/ESA
About the Image
NASA press release
| Id: | opo9932b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 18 April 2019, 16:00 |
| Related releases: | heic1907 |
| Size: | 1063 x 813 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 14085-5112, Southern Crab Nebula |
| Type: | Milky Way : Nebula |
| Distance: | 18000 light years |
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Category: | Nebulae |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 14 11 52.12 |
| Position (Dec): | -51° 26' 22.76" |
| Field of view: | 1.76 x 1.34 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 2.5° left of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical N II | 658 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |