Cosmic Scale
Hourglass Nebula
Planetary nebula · About 10,000 light-years
How big is Hourglass Nebula?
Hourglass Nebula is about 1.00 light-years across.
See Hourglass Nebula in 3D, at true scale
The Hourglass Nebula is gas thrown off by a dying star, pinched at the waist into an hourglass. A thick ring of gas around the star's middle forced its winds out towards the top and bottom. Its walls are etched with rings like the grooves of a vase.
At a glance
| Diameter | 1.00 light-years |
|---|---|
| Diameter compared with Earth | 7.4 × 10⁸ × Earth |
| Distance | About 10,000 light-years (uncertain) |
| Size | About 1 light-year tip to tip |
| Age | About 2,700 years |
| Also known as | MyCn 18 |
Good to know
- Its central star sits a little off-centre, likely tugged by a hidden companion star.
- Small knots of gas are flying out of it at about 500 km every second.
- The "eye" in the middle is a smaller hourglass seen inside the big one.
- Next smaller: Ring Nebula · 0.90 light-years
- Next larger: Oyster Nebula · 1.14 light-years