Overview
- The Gemini South telescope captured the view last month, with NOIRLab distributing the image this week as part of the anniversary program.
- The object, cataloged as NGC 6302 in the constellation Scorpius, lies an estimated 2,500 to 3,800 light-years from Earth.
- A hot white dwarf at the center heats previously expelled gas, producing the nebula’s distinctive bipolar wings typical of planetary nebulae.
- Chilean students chose the target to mark 25 years of International Gemini Observatory operations, highlighting the initiative’s educational focus.
- The international partnership spans the United States, Canada, Chile, Brazil and Argentina with telescopes in both hemispheres, and the new image maps ionized hydrogen in red and energized oxygen in blue.