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Chandra X-ray Image of NGC 5315
NGC 5315, a planetary nebula that lies in the southern constellation Circinus, has a Wolf-Rayet-type central star. There are only about 50 Wolf-Rayet-star planetary nebulas known in the entire sky. Wolf-Rayet-type stars are a special class of hot, hydrogen-deficient stars that display particularly massive and energetic stellar winds.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/RIT/J. Kastner et al. )
NGC 5315, a planetary nebula that lies in the southern constellation Circinus, has a Wolf-Rayet-type central star. There are only about 50 Wolf-Rayet-star planetary nebulas known in the entire sky. Wolf-Rayet-type stars are a special class of hot, hydrogen-deficient stars that display particularly massive and energetic stellar winds.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/RIT/J. Kastner et al. )
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Hubble Optical Image of NGC 5315
Planetary nebula NGC 5315 reveals an x-shaped structure in optical light. This shape suggests that the star ejected material in two different outbursts in two distinct directions. Each outburst unleashed a pair of diametrically opposed outflows. The image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 2007.
(Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA/The Hubble Heritage Team )
Planetary nebula NGC 5315 reveals an x-shaped structure in optical light. This shape suggests that the star ejected material in two different outbursts in two distinct directions. Each outburst unleashed a pair of diametrically opposed outflows. The image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 2007.
(Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA/The Hubble Heritage Team )
Return to NGC 5315 (September 27, 2007)
Revised: June 18, 2008