{"product_id":"butterfly-nebula-ngc-6302-hubble-space-telescope-image","title":"Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302) – Hubble Space Telescope Image","description":"\u003cp\u003eNGC 6302 — the Bug Nebula or Butterfly Nebula — spreads its two vast lobes across this Hubble view in incandescent pink, orange and white. The apparent delicacy is deceptive: these wing-like forms are streams of gas expelled by a dying star, heated to nearly 20,000 degrees Celsius and travelling at more than 950,000 kilometres per hour. Roughly 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, the nebula extends for more than two light-years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt its centre, a narrow dark band pinches the luminous structure into a bipolar, hourglass form. This is a thick, doughnut-shaped ring of dust surrounding the central star, constraining its outflow and directing faster material into the elongated lobes. The star itself remains hidden within the ring. Once about five times the mass of the Sun, it has shed its outer layers over approximately 2,200 years and now floods the expelled gas with ultraviolet radiation, making it glow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe image holds several distinct kinds of detail at once. Diffuse outer clouds dissolve into the black field, while nearer the centre the gas gathers into sharply illuminated folds, narrow filaments and finger-like projections. Warm reddish margins surround cooler-looking blue and green passages, and crisp white fronts trace places where fast-moving gas has overtaken material expelled earlier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eA closer look\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe upper-left lobe is comparatively open and diaphanous. Fine strands curl through its faint glow, with brighter pink and white material emerging from softer blue-green haze. Along the lower-left region, several slender projections point back towards the concealed star. Astronomers think such finger-like forms may mark denser blobs of material that have resisted the pressure of the stellar wind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the opposite lobe, the structure becomes more contorted. Twisting ridges and abrupt outlines run towards the lower right, while a bright edge presses against a neighbouring dark region. Particularly striking is the white formation at upper right, whose clean boundary records a shock wave: faster gas colliding with slower material that had already left the star. Throughout the nebula, the white areas correspond to emission from sulphur, while much of the red along the outer edges comes from nitrogen and marks the coolest gas visible in the image.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe central darkness gives the whole formation its visual tension. Light appears to burst away on either side, yet the source remains unseen. Beyond the brightest gas, faint wisps taper towards the margins and small, sharp points of light punctuate the deep background, emphasising the extraordinary breadth of the two-lobed structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHow this image was made\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHubble observed NGC 6302 on 27 July 2009 using Wide Field Camera 3, which had been installed by NASA astronauts only two months earlier during Servicing Mission 4. The camera recorded ultraviolet and visible light through filters isolating emissions from oxygen, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur. These observations were combined to create the finished composite, allowing differences in the nebula’s temperature, density and composition to become legible through colour and structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe observation also reveals successive episodes in the star’s decline. Relatively slow-moving material first accumulated around its equator to form the obscuring dust ring. Faster gas escaped perpendicular to that ring, producing the extended wings. A later stellar wind — a stream of charged particles moving at more than 3.2 million kilometres per hour — then drove through the existing lobes, reshaping them into the intricate cavities, projections and shock-brightened edges visible here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eImage details and provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSubject:\u003c\/strong\u003e NGC 6302, the Bug Nebula or Butterfly Nebula\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eObject type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Planetary nebula in the Milky Way\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eConstellation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Scorpius\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDistance from Earth:\u003c\/strong\u003e Approximately 4,000 light-years\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePhysical scale:\u003c\/strong\u003e The butterfly-shaped nebula extends for more than two light-years\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTelescope:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hubble Space Telescope\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInstrument:\u003c\/strong\u003e Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eObservation date:\u003c\/strong\u003e 27 July 2009\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWavelengths and filters:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ultraviolet and visible-light observations using filters isolating emission from oxygen, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eImage construction:\u003c\/strong\u003e Composite image created from filtered Hubble observations\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eProgramme:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hubble Servicing Mission 4 Early Release Observations\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOriginal release date:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9 September 2009, 17:00\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eImage credit:\u003c\/strong\u003e NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoosing the right size and finish\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFine art can feel intimate at smaller sizes and more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to judge the scale of the piece in your space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor exact dimensions, specialist framing or a larger project, \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop for advice\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this art print.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, or one considered visual detail. \u003ca href=\"\/es\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee examples of personalised artwork\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChoose Original for colour that remains faithful to the source artwork, or Aged for a warmer antique character. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/sepia-aged-maps\"\u003eSee examples of our Aged artwork\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an art print, framed art print or canvas using the finish options above.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFramed art prints use crystal-clear optical acrylic for excellent clarity, reduced reflections and safer delivery. They arrive professionally framed and ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSelected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/custom-framing\"\u003especialist framing\u003c\/a\u003e are also available; \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/es\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact our workshop\u003c\/a\u003e if the exact option you need is not listed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":58837359755648,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":58837359788416,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":58837359821184,"sku":null,"price":117.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Art print","offer_id":58837359853952,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed art 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