Cosmic Scale
IC 418
Planetary nebula · About 4,300 light-years
How big is IC 418?
IC 418 is about 0.26 light-years across.
See IC 418 in 3D, at true scale
IC 418 is the outer layers of a red giant star, thrown off only a few thousand years ago. The star's core is still shrinking and heating up on its way to becoming a white dwarf. Fine wavy lines across the gas gave it its Spirograph nickname.
At a glance
| Diameter | 0.26 light-years |
|---|---|
| Diameter compared with Earth | 1.9 × 10⁸ × Earth |
| Distance | About 4,300 light-years |
| Size | About 0.26 light-years across |
| Constellation | Lepus |
| Nickname | The Spirograph Nebula |
Good to know
- Nobody knows exactly what draws its fine criss-cross pattern of lines.
- Its star will shrink to a white dwarf about the size of Earth.
- Its gas flows out faster at the ends of the egg than at its middle.
- Next smaller: NGC 3918 · 0.22 light-years
- Next larger: Saturn Nebula · 0.46 light-years