NGC 6302
NGC 6302 (aka Bug Nebula or Butterfly Nebula) is a bipolar planetary nebula. It's 3,800 ly from the constellation Scorpius. This is about half the distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri. The glowing gas is the star’s outer layers that expelled over about 2,200 years. It resembles butterfly wing that stretch for more than two light-years. These are actually cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit.[1]
The central star is hidden within a doughnut-shaped ring of dust which constricts its outflow and creates the hourglass shape. Its temperature is about 250,000 degrees Celsius (400,000 degrees Fahrenheit) which makes it one of the hottest known stars in the galaxy. It has one of the most complex nebula structures.[1]
Gallery
-
NGC 6302 -
Wolf-Rayet star in NGC 6302
