Chandra Release - July 11, 2013

Visual Description: NGC 2392

This image features X-ray and optical data of a planetary nebula named NGC 2392, which is a type of celestial object formed by the death of a low-mass star. In this image, the planetary nebula is pink-purple, blue and gold in color,  on a dark background.  The structure of NGC 2392 resembles that of a sunflower, with its petal-shaped filaments spreading outwards from the center. This composite image of NGC 2392 contains X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in purple showing the location of million-degree gas near the center of the planetary nebula. Data from the Hubble Space Telescope show — colored in red, green, and blue — the intricate pattern of the outer layers of the star that have been ejected. The comet-shaped filaments form when the faster wind and radiation from the central star interact with cooler shells of dust and gas that were already ejected by the star.