Nebula · In the Milky Way

Southern Ring Nebula

Planetary nebula, NGC 3132

From the Sun

2,500 light-years

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Southern Ring NebulaOpen in 3D
Picture: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and the Webb ERO Production Team

What it is

Shells of gas thrown off by a dying star; Webb found the faint star at its centre wrapped in dust. One of Webb’s first images.

The picture hangs at that distance facing Earth, as large as it is on the sky; how deep the object is cannot be seen, so it is flat.

The picture

Taken by
James Webb Space Telescope
Picture spans
about 1.8 ly
From the Sun
2,500 light-years
RA / Dec
151.76° / -40.44°
Credit
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and the Webb ERO Production Team

NGC 3132

NGC 3132 is a bright and extensively studied planetary nebula in the constellation Vela. Alternatively, it is known as the Eight-Burst Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, or Caldwell 74. Its distance from Earth is estimated at 613 pc or 2,000 light-years. From Earth, it appears to have a strongly elliptical shape.

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In the Milky Way