NGC 2392 from the Newly Fixed Hubble
In 1787, astronomer
William Herschel discovered
NGC 2392.
From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head
surrounded by a
parka hood.
In 2000, just after
being fixed, the
Hubble Space Telescope imaged
NGC 2392.
From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so complex they are not fully understood.
NGC 2392 is clearly a
planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the
outer layers of a Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago.
The inner filaments
visible above are being ejected by strong
wind of particles from the central star.
The outer disk contains unusual light-year long orange filaments.
NGC 2392 lies about 5000
light-years away and is visible
with a small telescope in the
constellation of Gemini.