The Owl Nebula, Don Curry

The Owl Nebula

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Description

The Owl Nebula is about 2,000 light years away in the constellation Ursa Major.

This 8,000 year old planetary nebula was formed from the outflow of material from the stellar wind of the central star as it evolved along the asymptotic giant branch. The nebula is arranged in three concentric shells, with the outermost being 30 % larger than the inner shell. The owl-like appearance of the nebula is the result of an inner shell that is not circularly symmetric, but instead forms a barrel-like structure aligned at an angle of 45 degrees to the line of sight.

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The Owl Nebula, Don Curry

In these public groups

Cloudy Nights