A NASA showcase you can't miss: 5 stunning photos of the Ring Nebula
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has revealed some important facts about the Ring Nebula, including its formation, structure, and distance from Earth.
Video Credits: NASA
The Ring Nebula, or M57, is a planetary nebula in Lyra formed from a sun-like star shedding its outer layers.
Photo Credits: NASA
It appears as a glowing ring of gas around a central white dwarf, located about 2,300 light-years from Earth.
Photo Credits: European Space Agency
Discovered by French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in 1779, the Ring Nebula has a magnitude of 8.8.
Photo Credits: NASA
The Ring Nebula is easy to locate, lying midway between the 3rd-magnitude stars 'Sheliak' and 'Sulafat' in Lyra. However, to view its detailed ring shape, a moderately-sized telescope is needed.
Photo Credits: NASA
The blue gas in the centre of the nebula is a football-shaped structure seen from the side, cutting through the red, ring-shaped material around it.
Photo Credits: NASA
The inner edge of the ring shows a complex pattern of dark, uneven knots of dense gas that haven't been blown away by the stellar winds yet.
Photo Credits: Web Space Telescope
The knots and their tails look like spokes in a bicycle.
Photo Credits: NASA
The deep blue in the centre represents helium, the light blue of the inner ring is the glow of hydrogen and oxygen, and the reddish outer ring comes from nitrogen and sulphur.
Photo Credits: NASA
This image of M57 has been colourised to show the nebula’s chemical composition.