Exploring the Ring Nebula (3D)

This video begins with a zoom into the constellation of Lyra, to the location of the Ring Nebula and the new composite Hubble/Large Binocular Telescope image. Then the three-dimensional model of the Ring Nebula, developed from the new observations, is explored.

The main ring glows in the light of nitrogen, shown in red. That ring is filled with oxygen emission, shown in green. Perpendicular lobes are filled with the hottest emission from helium, shown in blue. Dense dark knots line the interior of the ring, and their shadows glow like spikes in Hydrogen emission, shown in red.

Hydrogen emission also reveals the inner and outer halos. A circuit around the 3D model showcases the more accurate and most detailed structure that astronomers have uncovered.