Happy Space Science Saturday! This glowing orb of gas, officially known as NGC 7662, is a planetary nebula formed when a Sun-like star shed its outer layers near the end of its life. The intense blue colour comes from ionized oxygen glowing under ultraviolet radiation from the hot stellar core left behind.
Located ~5,600 light-years away in the constellation Andromeda, this compact nebula is a favourite target for both professional and amateur astronomers.
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🌐Blue snowball nebula ngc7662 in constellation Andromeda. Small and bright (short 30s exposures). I had to find the sweet spot to make the inner structure visible. Happy to see it’s unique features appearing. #ngc7662 #bluesnowballnebula Size 0.5x0.5arcmin #planetarynebula #astrofotografie #astrophotography #narrowbandimaging #ioptroncem25p #williamopticszs73 #asi533mcpro #asiairpro #optolonglultimate #astropixelprocessor #starnetv2 320x30s bortle5 sky