Ring Nebula

planetary nebula · M57 · in Lyra

2,570 light-years from Earth

A glowing barrel of gas thrown off by a dying star, seen almost end-on so it looks like a smoke ring. The blue-green centre is oxygen; the red rim is hydrogen and nitrogen.

• 2,570 light-years · about a light-year across
• seen from the side it is a hollow barrel, not a ring

kind

nebula

catalogue

M57 · NGC 6720