Ring Nebula (M57)

Ring Nebula (M57) — planetary nebula, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

Expelled gas surrounds a dying star. The bright ring encircles an elongated interior that protrudes on both sides. This representative gas volume follows the published NASA/ESA/STScI structure and uses Hubble image colours. It is an illustrative reconstruction for Cosmoscope, not a measured three-dimensional scan or a downloaded NASA model.

Also known as

NGC 6720

Constellation

Lyra

Distance

Approximately 2,400 light-years · uncertain

Structure

A thick equatorial ring around elongated central gas, with lobes on both sides

Image

Hubble narrow-band observation · assigned emission-line colours

3D view

Representative reconstruction; individual gas depths and proportions are approximate

Reference

NASA/ESA/STScI 2013 three-dimensional reconstruction

Image credit

Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)

Seeing Ring Nebula (M57) in real time

Ring Nebula (M57) is placed at its true position on the sky and at its real measured distance, not as a flat backdrop. Fly out from the Sun in the live 3D view and watch it change from a point of light into structure as you approach, with the scale bar showing just how far out you have travelled.