Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302)

The "wings" of NGC 6302 are regions of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit that are tearing across space at more than 600,000 miles an hour.

Helix Nebula

The composite picture is a seamless blend of ultra-sharp Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the wide view of the Mosaic Camera on the National Science Foundation's 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.

Twin Jet Nebula

M2-9 is a striking example of a "butterfly" or a bipolar planetary nebula. Another more revealing name might be the "Twin Jet Nebula." If the nebula is sliced across the star, each side of it appears much like a pair of exhausts from jet engines.

Cat’s Eye Nebula

Not only is the Cat's Eye Nebula, formally cataloged NGC 6543, one of the first planetary nebulae to be discovered, it is also one of the most complex such nebulae seen in space.

Hourglass Nebula

This is an image of MyCn18, a young planetary nebula located about 8,000 light-years away, taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Spirograph Nebula

Glowing like a multi-faceted jewel, the planetary nebula IC 418 lies about 2,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lepus.