Image Credit and Copyright: Howard Hedlund & Dave Jurasevich, Las Campanas Obs.
Approximately 5 light-years in length and nearly 800 light-years away, NGC 2736, properly nicknamed the “Pencil Nebula” for its appearance, is a geometrically unique supernova remnant. From Earth, we see this nebula as if looking at paper with its edge at eye level; a thin and compact perspective on a large object. This color composition of the Pencil Nebula sharply depicts the thin filaments of glowing gas traveling through space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. The Pencil Nebula represents the supernova remnant of the Vela system that exploded 11,000 years ago.
As a writer this nebula is a favorite. I admit bias.
-Julia
Published by Julia Mariani
Sources: apod.nasa.gov