Planetary Nebula Project
In this picture, there are 9 pictures of planetaries: 3 Messier objects (M27- the Dumbell Nebula, M76- the Little Dumbell, and M57- the Ring Nebula), NGC 6543 (the Cat's Eye Nebula), the Medusa, and the Bug. Each image was made with detailed narrow band data and they all have the same angular scale- 20 arc minutes (1/3 degree). There is a faint grey circle in the middle of the picture. This represents the apparent size of the full moon at the same angular scale. Planetary nebulae are a part of stellar evolution. It is the process when the core is rapidly shrinking because the star runs out of fuel for nuclear fusion. This picture represents what will eventually happen to our Sun. Luckily, it will probably be in another 5 billion years.
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