Cosmic Scale
Egg Nebula
Pre-planetary nebula · About 1,000 light-years
How big is Egg Nebula?
Egg Nebula is about 0.14 light-years across.
See Egg Nebula in 3D, at true scale
The Egg Nebula is not yet a planetary nebula but a stage just before one. Its star is hidden inside a thick cocoon of dust, and its light escapes through two holes to light up beams and shells of dust. In a few thousand years the star will be hot enough to make the gas glow.
At a glance
| Diameter | 0.14 light-years |
|---|---|
| Diameter compared with Earth | 1.0 × 10⁸ × Earth |
| Distance | About 1,000 light-years (uncertain) |
| Size | About 0.15 light-years tip to tip |
| Age | Lobes a few hundred years old |
| Also known as | CRL 2688 |
Good to know
- The gas does not glow yet: it shines only because dust reflects the hidden star's light.
- The pre-planetary stage lasts only a few thousand years, a blink of time for a star.
- Its ring-like arcs are shells the star puffed out one after another, long before the beams.
- Next smaller: Phoenix A* · 0.06 light-years
- Next larger: NGC 3918 · 0.22 light-years