VISTAs look at the Helix Nebula
Creator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany
Image Source: http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1205a/
ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has captured this unusual view of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a planetary nebula located 700 light-years away. The coloured picture was created from images taken through Y, J and K infrared filters. While bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies, the telescope's infrared vision also reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are mostly obscured in visible images of the Helix.
Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
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Image Details
- Image Type
- Observation
- Object Name
- Helix Nebula • NGC 7293
- Subject - Milky Way
- Nebula » Type » Planetary
Position Details
- Position (ICRS)
- RA = 22h 29m 38.6s
- DEC = -20° 50’ 14.0”
- Orientation
- North is up
- Field of View
- 37.5 x 37.5 arcminutes
- Constellation
- Aquarius
Color Mapping
Telescope | Spectral Band | Wavelength | |
---|---|---|---|
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) | Infrared (Y) | - | |
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) | Infrared (Pseudocolour (J+Y)) | - | |
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) | Infrared (K) | - | |
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) | Infrared (J) | - | |
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VIRCAM) | Infrared (K) | - | |