Planetary nebula IC 4406 in Lupus
author: Nasa/Hubble heritage team/Novapix
reference: a-nep90-44061
Image Size 300 DPI: 24 * 15 cm
One of the most interesting features of IC 4406, the "Retina Nebula", is the irregular lattice of dark lanes that criss-cross the center of the nebula. These lanes are about 160 astronomical units wide (1 astronomical unit is the distance between the Earth and Sun). They are located right at the boundary between the hot glowing gas that produces the visual light imaged here and the neutral gas seen with radio telescopes. We see the lanes in silhouette because they have a density of dust and gas that is a thousand times higher than the rest of the nebula. This image is a composite of data taken by Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in June 2001.
IC 4406 is located at about 1900 light years from earth.