Explanation:
In 1787, astronomer
William Herschel discovered the
Eskimo Nebula.
From the ground, NGC 2392 resembles a person's head
surrounded by a parka hood.
In 2000, the
Hubble Space Telescope imaged the
Eskimo Nebula.
From space, the nebula displays gas clouds so
complex they are
not fully understood.
The
Eskimo Nebula is clearly a
planetary nebula, and the gas seen above composed the
outer layers of a
Sun-like star only 10,000 years ago.
The inner filaments visible above are being ejected by strong
wind of particles from the central star.
The outer disk contains unusual
light-year long orange filaments.
The Eskimo
Nebula spans about 1/3 of a light year and lies in our
Milky Way Galaxy,
about 3,000 light years distant, toward the constellation of the Twins
(Gemini).
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