Hubble Captures Image of the Necklace Nebula

Posted on August 12, 2011

Hubble has captured an aimage of an object that resembles a giant cosmic necklace. The object, named the Necklace Nebula, consists of a bright ring (12 trillion miles across). The ring is dotted with dense, bright knots of gas that resemble diamonds on a necklace.

The nebula was produced by a pair of stars orbiting very close together. Astronomers say the stars are whirling around each other very quickly. They complete an orbit in just over a day.

The Necklace Nebula is located 15,000-light-years away in the constellation Sagitta.

You can see a larger image of the Necklace Nebula here on hubblesite.org.