Catalog Page for PIA15658

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PIA15658: NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula

NGC 7293, better known as the Helix nebula, displays its ultraviolet glow courtesy of NASA's GALEX. The Helix is the nearest example of a planetary nebula, which is the eventual fate of a star, like our own Sun, as it approaches the end of its life.

Target Name:	Helix Nebula
Mission:	Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
Spacecraft:	GALEX Orbiter
Instrument:	Ultraviolet/Visible Camera
Product Size:	2920 x 2920 pixels (w x h)
Produced By:	IPAC-Caltech
Full-Res TIFF:	PIA15658.tif (25.58 MB)
Full-Res JPEG:	PIA15658.jpg (884.6 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

NGC 7293, better known as the Helix nebula, displays its ultraviolet glow courtesy of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). The Helix is the nearest example of a planetary nebula, which is the eventual fate of a star, like our own Sun, as it approaches the end of its life. As it runs out of fuel, the star expels its outer envelope of gas outward to form a nebula like the Helix. The remaining core of the star is a small, hot, dense remnant known as a white dwarf.

For information about the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, go to: http://www.galex.caltech.edu.

Image Credit:

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Image Addition Date:

2012-05-16