Hubble Heritage Project's First Anniversary. A View of NGC 2440
Depicts: NGC 2440, IRAS 07396-1805
Copyright: NASA/The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Show in archive: true
NGC 2440 is another planetary nebula ejected by a dying star, but it has a much more chaotic structure than for instance NGC 2346, which is another object in the Hubble Heritage Images Series. The central star of NGC 2440 is one of the hottest known, with a surface temperature near 200,000 degrees Celsius.The complex structure of the surrounding nebula suggests to some astronomers that there have been periodic oppositely directed outflows from the central star, somewhat similar to that in NGC 2346, but in the case of NGC 2440 these outflows have been episodic, and in different directions during each episode.
Last Update: 1 September 2019