Explanation: Planetary nebulae can look simple, round, and planet-like in small telescopes. But images from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope have become well known for showing these fluorescent gas shrouds of dying Sun-like stars to possess a staggering variety of detailed symmetries and shapes. This composite color Hubble image of NGC 6751, the Glowing Eye Nebula, is a beautiful example of a classic planetary nebula with complex features. It was selected in April of 2000 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hubble in orbit, but was reprocessed recently by an amateur as part of the Hubble Legacy program. Winds and radiation from the intensely hot central star (140,000 degreesCelsius) have apparently created the nebula's streamer-like features. The nebula's actual diameter is approximately 0.8 light-years or about 600 times the size of our Solar System. NGC 6751 is 6,500 light-years distant in the high-flying constellation of the Eagle (Aquila).
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 4:12 am
by Beyond
It looks nice... but to me, it just doesn't seem to glow.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:07 am
by inertnet
The nebula's actual diameter is approximately 0.8 light-years or about 600 times the size of our Solar System
I think that depends on what you consider being part of our Solar System. That statement goes nowhere if you include the Oort cloud.
What orbits at 0.00066667 light-years of our Sun?
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:58 am
by rstevenson
"The nebula's actual diameter is approximately 0.8 light-years or about 600 times the size of our Solar System" seems a bit hyperbolic to me too. 0.8 ly = 50,592 AU. The Kuiper Belt has a diameter of roughly 100 AU. So this nebula is roughly 500 times larger than the Kuiper Belt. But if you include the Oort Cloud, with a diameter of anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 AU, as part of the Solar System (which I think is common practice) this nebula is very roughly the same size as the Solar System.
Rob
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:36 pm
by K1NS
' . . . but was reprocessed recently by an amateur . . . "
Doesn't the "amateur" have a name? Come on, credit where due.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:03 pm
by Lordcat Darkstar
K1NS wrote:' . . . but was reprocessed recently by an amateur . . . "
Doesn't the "amateur" have a name? Come on, credit where due.
Donald Waid. His name is under the pic
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:37 pm
by Boomer12k
Sauron!!!!
:---[===] *
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Astronomers have confirmed that a controversial exoplanet called Fomalhaut b actually does exist and have calculated its potential orbit. The results show that the object is even stranger than scientists could have imagined, dubbing it a “rogue planet.”
The uncertainty about this object started in 2008, when scientists released an image taken with NASA’s Hubble space telescope of a tiny dot of light in the debris disk of a young, bright star called Fomalhaut, which is about 25 light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. At the time, they presented only two data points, showing the exoplanet as it existed in 2004 and 2006. It was a sensational image — the enormous debris disk made the star resemble the “Eye of Sauron” from the Lord of the Rings movies — and was one of the first directly imaged extrasolar planets ever seen.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 3:11 pm
by Psnarf
Wow!
Beautiful flower - It must be getting close to Spring.
Even captured the glowing part of the stem.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:13 pm
by JM Melanson
Do you see the figure holding a wand? It looks like he just produced the star burst!
Right-Click on word image above then click on view image to see an enhanced cropped area of the bottom right...
My wife Judy noticed this and I thought it was worth mentioning.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 8:37 pm
by neufer
Click to play embedded YouTube video.
JM Melanson wrote:
Do you see the figure holding a wand? It looks like he just produced the star burst!
Right-Click on word image above then click on view image to see an enhanced cropped area of the bottom right...
My wife Judy noticed this and I thought it was worth mentioning.
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:05 pm
by Beyond
E-e-e-yup He's recuperated. YEE-HAA
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:13 pm
by saturno2
0.8 light year = 292 light days
292 light days / 600 = 0.48 light day ( This is the diameter of Solar
System by this APOD)
The diameter of Solar System ( classic opinion ) has the end in the
orbit of Pluto. This diameter is aprox. = 0.5 light day or 12 light hours
Re: APOD: NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula (2013 Mar 13)
Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2013 1:06 am
by Mactavish
Neufer . .
It has been over 50 years since I’ve seen “Fantasia”, and that was when I took my son (then about 5 or 6 years old), and the movie was already about 25 years old at that time. It is another rare and timeless masterpiece that occasionally comes out of Hollywood. Mickey as the apprentice to the music of Dukas was Disney at his best. Thank you for posting it!
NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula
He's recuperated. 
YEE-HAA 