a-nep13-60001← Collection
images
NGC 1360, the diffuse planetary nebula in Fornax
- Reference
- a-nep13-60001
- Date
- 2006-09-17
Planetary nebulae usually have well-defined boundaries, sometimes even a shell-like structure. For reasons that are not understood, NGC 1360 defies all these conventions, yet its colour still clearly identifies it as a planetary nebula. The green hue is oxygen, excited by the hot central star, and to the north-east of the nebula is a faint red smudge, probably traces of material ejected before the star became a true planetary nebula.