Hubble's observation of the Stingray Nebula in 1996
Date: 03 December 2020
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Copyright: NASA, ESA, B. Balick (University of Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía), and G. Ramos-Larios (Universidad de Guadalajara), CC BY 4.0
Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has faded precipitously over just the past two decades. Witnessing such a swift rate of change in a planetary nebula is exceedingly rare, say researchers.
This image captured by Hubble in 1996 demonstrates how the nebula appeared before it dimmed drastically in brightness and changed shape. At this time, it was characterised by bright blue shells of gas near the centre of the nebula.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Last Update: 4 December 2020
