Key facts
- Category
- Nebulae
- Object class
- Planetary nebula
- Host
- Milky Way
- Scale fact
- 1,890 billion km0.2 lymaximum extent
- Composition
- Gas, dust, and stellar ejecta
NGC 7027
1,890 billion kmmaximum extent
Details
NGC 7027 is a young planetary nebula in Cygnus with a compact bright inner region wrapped in fainter outer shells of gas. Recent Hubble observations show a remnant still changing shape, where newer, more directed outflows are running into older material shed by the dying central star.
NGC 7027 is a young planetary nebula with a bright, compact inner region surrounded by fainter shells of material expelled earlier by its central star. Its maximum visible extent depends on which outer emission is included, so the 0.2-light-year value is a boundary of the imaged structure rather than a solid edge.
Hubble observations reveal narrow outflows cutting through the older envelope. Their collisions with previously shed gas help explain why the nebula is asymmetric and still changing instead of forming a single smooth shell.
Links
- Editorial guides
- Universe journey
- Orion Arm
- Preset views
- Wikipedia
- NGC 7027 on Wikipedia
Size neighbors
Objects near NGC 7027 on the scale
On the logarithmic size axis, NGC 7027 falls between Phoenix A* and Cat's Eye Nebula. The band uses nearby Planetary nebula records.
Shared physical scale
4.28ly
Sources
References for NGC 7027
Measurements and descriptive context are compiled by the Scale of Space team from the references below. If you find an error, please let us know.
- NGC 7027 — Wikipedia
- Visual reference: Wikimedia Commons (Hubble 2020 / NASA, ESA, and J. Kastner (RIT), CC BY 2.0)
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About
Scale of Space is a scroll-based journey through the universe, placing objects on a single logarithmic scale so you can compare size across an unbroken range.
Guides explain selected parts of that range, while focused views filter the objects by subject.