ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

NGC 3918 is in the constellation Centaurus and is about 3,000 light-years from us. Its diameter is about 0.3 light-year. It shows a roughly spherical outer envelope but an elongated inner balloon inflated by a fast wind from the hot central star, which is starting to break out of the spherical envelope at the top and bottom of the image.

Object Name: NGC 3918

Image Type: Astronomical

Credits: Howard Bond (Space Telescope Science Institute), Robin Ciardullo (Pennsylvania State University) and NASA

NEWS RELEASE IMAGES

The above image is part of a montage:

Montage Image: Hubble's Planetary Nebula Gallery Image Type: Astronomical PRC1997-38b Round Planetary Nebula IC 3568 Image Type: Astronomical Eye-Shaped Planetary Nebula NGC 6826 Image Type: Astronomical Two-Lobed Planetary Nebula Hubble 5 Image Type: Astronomical Planetary Nebula NGC 7009 Image Type: Astronomical Spiral-Structured Planetary Nebula NGC 5307 Image Type: Astronomical

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