Hubble image archive

Stingray Nebula in 2016

Date: Jan 1, 2020
Mission: Hubble Space Telescope
Archive ID: hubblesite-images-2020-55-4751-image

By Kakha Giorgashvili January 1, 2020

This image shows the planetary nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, captured by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in January 2016. This image of the Stingray nebula shows it has changed drastically in brightness and shape when compared to its first portrait by Hubble in 1996. When comparing the imaging, researchers discovered unprecedented changes in the light emitted by glowing nitrogen (shown in red), hydrogen (blue) and oxygen (green) being blasted off by the dying star at the center of the nebula.

Credits

NASA, ESA, B. Balick (University of Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía), and G. Ramos-Larios (Universidad de Guadalajara)

Image Details

About The Object
Object Name	Hen 3-1357 (Stingray Nebula)
Object Description	Planetary Nebula
R.A. Position	17:16:21.07
Dec. Position	-59:29:23.64
Constellation	Ara
Distance	18,260 light-years
Dimensions	Image is about 6 arcsec across (about 0.5 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description	The HST observations include those from programs (M. Bobrowsky) and (Z. Edwards)
Instrument	WFC3/UVIS
Exposure Dates	22 January 2016
Filters	F502N, F656N, F658N
About The Image
Color Info	These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFPC2 and WFC3/UVIS instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F502N Green: F656N Red: F658N