ESA Science & Technology - heic2020a_1280.jpg

Modified 2020-10-09T08:53:54

Created 2020-10-09T08:53:54

Description 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. These images captured by Hubble in 1996 (left), when compared to Hubble images taken in 2016 (right), show a nebula that has drastically dimmed in brightness and changed shape. Bright blue shells of gas near the centre of the nebula have all but disappeared, and the wavy edges that earned this nebula its aquatic-themed name are virtually gone. The young nebula no longer pops against the black velvet background of the distant Universe.

Subject Stingray Nebula

Title Hubble Captures Fading of the Stingray Nebula

Content Type image/jpeg

Last Modification 2020-10-09T08:53:54

Keywords Stingray Nebula

Creation Date 2020-10-09T08:53:54

Save Date 2020-10-09T08:53:54

Bits Per Sample 8

Image Length 652

Image Width 1280

Software Adobe Photoshop 21.2 (Windows)