Nebula
Eight Burst Nebula
Planetary nebula · C74 · NGC 3132
Planetary nebula in Vela
Photo: Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA/ESA) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
NGC 3132 is a bright and extensively studied planetary nebula in the constellation Vela. Alternatively, it is known as the Eight-Burst Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, or Caldwell 74. Its distance from Earth is estimated at 613 pc or 2,000 light-years. From Earth, it appears to have a strongly elliptical shape. Three-dimensional modeling of the nebula has found that NGC 3132 is a bipolar nebula, with its major axis inclined about twenty degrees from the line of sight. It can only been seen from the Southern Hemisphere. Despite this however, it can be seen as north as Virginia. This central low-density cavity is surrounded by multiple ring-like structures.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~2,000 light-years
Apparent mag.
+8
Apparent size
0.5′
Best seen with
Binoculars
Catalogue
C74 · NGC 3132
Did you know
- Listed as Caldwell 74 in the Caldwell catalogue, also known as NGC 3132.
- Found in the constellation Vela.
- Within reach of ordinary binoculars under dark skies.
