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About the Image

Date
2007-08-24
ID
sig07-016
Type
Observation
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ J. Hora (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)

About the Object

Name
Helix Nebula • NGC 7293
Type
Nebula > Type > Planetary
Distance
650 Light Years

Color Mapping

Band Wavelength Telescope
Infrared 3.6 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 4.5 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 8.0 µm Spitzer IRAC

About the Color Mapping Table

Astrometrics

Position (J2000)
RA = 22h 29m 40.5s
Dec = -20° 49' 49.7"
Field of View
29.1 x 27.1 arcminutes
Orientation
North is 64.9° right of vertical
Constellation
Aquarius

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08.24.07

Spitzer Celebrates Fourth Anniversary with Celestial Fireworks

A newly expanded image of the Helix nebula lends a festive touch to the fourth anniversary of the launch of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This spectacular object, a dying star unraveling into space, is a favorite of amateur and professional astronomers alike. Spitzer has mapped the expansive outer structure of the six-light-year-wide nebula, and probed the inner region around the central dead star to reveal what appears to be a planetary system that survived the star's chaotic death throes.