The Bug Nebula - NGC 6302
The Bug Nebula (NGC 6302), in the constellation Scorpius, is a bipolar planetary nebula. It has been discovered in 1888. The earliest-known study of this nebula is by Edward Emerson Barnard who drew and described it in 1907.
NGC 6302 lies about 3,400 light-years away. Its spectrum shows that its central star is exceptionally hot (one of the hottest known stars in our galaxy), with an estimated surface temperature of almost 250,000 °C. This star that was once roughly five times the mass of the Sun, shines brightly in ultraviolet light but it is hidden from direct view by dense equatorial torus of dust.
NGC 6302 has a complex structure and contains a prominent northwest lobe which extends up to 3.0′ away from the central star. This lobe is estimated to have formed from an eruptive event 1,900 years ago.
The dark line that runs through the center of the nebula has been shown to have an unusual composition, showing evidence for crystalline silicates, crystalline water ice and quartz.
Narrowband (HOO) version: H-Alpha mapped to red, OIII mapped to blue and OIII+Ha mapped to the green channel. While the colors in this image are not the true colors, the narrowband filters were used to create the nebula color. Then I added the natural star colors using RGB filters and Starnet process.
RA 17h 13m 44.1s
DEC -37° 06' 17.9"
ORIENTATION Up is 148 degrees E of N
CONSTELLATION Scorpius
DISTANCE 3,400 ly
MAGNITUDE 10.1
Captured September 2021
Fiel Of view: 9 x 8.17 arcmin
Total integration time of 16.5 hours.
Technical Details
Data acquisition: Martin PUGH
Processing: Nicolas ROLLAND
El Sauce Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile
R 3 x 600 sec
G 3 x 600 sec
B 4 x 600 sec
Ha 14 x 1800 sec
OIII 15 x 1800 sec
Optics: Planewave 17“ CDK @ F6.8
Mount: Paramount ME
CCD: SBIG STXL-11002 (AOX)
The Bug Nebula - NGC 6302
The Bug Nebula (NGC 6302), in the constellation Scorpius, is a bipolar planetary nebula. It has been discovered in 1888. The earliest-known study of this nebula is by Edward Emerson Barnard who drew and described it in 1907.
NGC 6302 lies about 3,400 light-years away. Its spectrum shows that its central star is exceptionally hot (one of the hottest known stars in our galaxy), with an estimated surface temperature of almost 250,000 °C. This star that was once roughly five times the mass of the Sun, shines brightly in ultraviolet light but it is hidden from direct view by dense equatorial torus of dust.
NGC 6302 has a complex structure and contains a prominent northwest lobe which extends up to 3.0′ away from the central star. This lobe is estimated to have formed from an eruptive event 1,900 years ago.
The dark line that runs through the center of the nebula has been shown to have an unusual composition, showing evidence for crystalline silicates, crystalline water ice and quartz.
Narrowband (HOO) version: H-Alpha mapped to red, OIII mapped to blue and OIII+Ha mapped to the green channel. While the colors in this image are not the true colors, the narrowband filters were used to create the nebula color. Then I added the natural star colors using RGB filters and Starnet process.
RA 17h 13m 44.1s
DEC -37° 06' 17.9"
ORIENTATION Up is 148 degrees E of N
CONSTELLATION Scorpius
DISTANCE 3,400 ly
MAGNITUDE 10.1
Captured September 2021
Fiel Of view: 9 x 8.17 arcmin
Total integration time of 16.5 hours.
Technical Details
Data acquisition: Martin PUGH
Processing: Nicolas ROLLAND
El Sauce Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile
R 3 x 600 sec
G 3 x 600 sec
B 4 x 600 sec
Ha 14 x 1800 sec
OIII 15 x 1800 sec
Optics: Planewave 17“ CDK @ F6.8
Mount: Paramount ME
CCD: SBIG STXL-11002 (AOX)