Nebulae
Planetary Nebula NGC 3918
December 17, 1997 · NASA
NGC 3918 is in the constellation Centaurus and is about 3,000 light-years from us. Its diameter is about 0.3 light-year. It shows a roughly spherical outer envelope but an elongated inner balloon inflated by a fast wind from the hot central star, which is starting to break out of the spherical envelope at the top and bottom of the image.
More Hubble images of NGC 3918
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Two-Lobed Planetary Nebula Hubble 5December 17, 1997
Planetary Nebula NGC 7009December 17, 1997