Southern Ring Nebula
E60084
The Southern Ring Nebula is a bright, roughly 2,000-light-year-distant planetary nebula in the constellation Vela, formed from the outer layers of a dying sun-like star and notable for its intricate, colorful gas shells.
Statements (53)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
emission nebula
ⓘ
planetary nebula ⓘ |
| angularSize | ~1.7 × 1.4 arcminutes ⓘ |
| apparentMagnitudeV | 9.87 ⓘ |
| apparentShape | elliptical ring ⓘ |
| approximateDistance | about 2,000 light-years ⓘ |
| bestViewingSeason | late southern summer and autumn ⓘ |
| catalogNumber |
C 74
ⓘ
NGC 3132 ⓘ |
| centralBinaryComponent |
sun-like companion star
ⓘ
white dwarf remnant ⓘ |
| centralStarMass | about 0.6 solar masses ⓘ |
| centralStarType | white dwarf ⓘ |
| colorAppearance | bluish-green interior with reddish outer regions in optical images ⓘ |
| constellation | Vela ⓘ |
| contains | central binary star system ⓘ |
| declination | −40° 26′ 11″ ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | John Herschel ⓘ |
| discoveryYear | 1835 ⓘ |
| distanceFromEarth | 2000 light-years ⓘ |
| dominantEmissionLines |
hydrogen
ⓘ
nitrogen ⓘ oxygen ⓘ |
| evolutionaryPhase | late stage of low- to intermediate-mass star evolution ⓘ |
| featuredIn | first full-color images released by James Webb Space Telescope in July 2022 ⓘ |
| formationMechanism | ejected outer layers of a dying star ⓘ |
| galacticRegion |
Galactic thin disk
ⓘ
surface form:
Milky Way disk
|
| gasComposition |
heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen
ⓘ
helium ⓘ hydrogen-rich gas ⓘ |
| JWSTInstrumentUsed |
MIRI
ⓘ
NIRCam ⓘ |
| locatedIn | Milky Way ⓘ |
| notableFeature |
bright inner ring structure
ⓘ
complex, asymmetric morphology ⓘ fainter extended halo ⓘ intricate shells of ionized gas ⓘ multiple nested gas shells ⓘ |
| observedBy |
Hubble Space Telescope
ⓘ
James Webb Space Telescope ⓘ ground-based telescopes ⓘ |
| observedIn |
infrared wavelengths
ⓘ
optical wavelengths ⓘ ultraviolet wavelengths ⓘ |
| otherName |
Caldwell 74
ⓘ
Eight-Burst Nebula ⓘ NGC 3132 ⓘ |
| progenitorStarType | Sun-like star ⓘ |
| rightAscension | 10h 07m 01s ⓘ |
| shapingMechanism | interaction of stellar winds and binary companion ⓘ |
| spectralTypeOfCompanion | roughly solar-type star ⓘ |
| structure | inner bright ring and outer diffuse envelope ⓘ |
| visibility | best observed from Southern Hemisphere ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.