IC 418, also known as the Spirograph Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Lepus about 3,600 ly away from Earth. It spans 0.3 light-years across. The central star of the planetary nebula, HD 35914, is an O-type star with a spectral type of O7fp.[4] The nebula formed a few thousand years ago during the star's last stages of its red giant phase. Material from the star’s outer layers was ejected from the star into the surrounding space. The nebula’s glow is caused by the central star’s ultraviolet radiation interacting with the gas.[5]
| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
 A false color image of IC 418 (the spirograph nebula). | |
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 05h 27m 28.2037s[1] |
| Declination | −12° 41′ 50.265″[1] |
| Distance | 3.6 ± 1.0 kly (1100 ± 300 pc)[2] ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.6[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 3.5″x5.5"/11"x14"/150"/220"x250"[3] |
| Constellation | Lepus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 0.15 ly |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | - |
| Notable features | - |
| Designations | Spirograph Nebula |
The nebula gets its colors from the different chemical elements inside the nebula. The red color is nitrogen (the coldest gas in the nebula), the green is hydrogen and the traces of blue are the ionized oxygen gas (the hottest gas in the nebula due to its proximity to the central star).[6]
Naming
The name derives from the intricate pattern of the nebula, which resembles a pattern which can be created using the Spirograph, a toy that produces geometric patterns (specifically, hypotrochoids and epitrochoids) on paper. The origin of the Spirograph pattern is unknown.[7]
References
External links
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
