NGC 5307 illustration

NGC 5307 is a planetary nebula in the constellation Centaurus, about 8000 light years away. In the center of the nebula, which has a diameter of approximately 0.6 light years, a white dwarf is located which illuminates the gas from within.

The nebula itself has a spiral structure - as shown in the illustration - which may have been caused by the white star wobbling as it expelled jets of gas in different directions. NGC 5307 also shows a “point-symmetric” structure, what means that almost every blob has a counterpart on the opposite side of the central star.