| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
 Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the nebula (Credit: M. Bobrowsky and NASA) | |
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 17h 16m 21.071s[1] |
| Declination | −59° 29′ 23.64″[1] |
| Distance | 18,000 ly (5,600[2] pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.75[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 1″.6[2] |
| Constellation | Ara |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 0.08[2] ly |
| Designations | PN G331.3-12.1,[1] Hen 3-1357[1] |
The Stingray Nebula (Hen 3-1357) is the youngest-known planetary nebula, having appeared in the 1980s.[2] The nebula is located in the direction of the southern constellation Ara (the Altar), and is located 18,000 light-years (5,600 parsecs) away. Although it is some 130 times the size of the Solar System, the Stingray Nebula is only about one tenth the size of most other known planetary nebulae. The central star of the nebula is the fast-evolving star SAO 244567. Until the early 1970s, it was observed on Earth as a preplanetary nebula in which the gas had not yet become hot and ionized.
The image of the nebula shows how the older outer shells of gas are acting as a collimator for the more recent gas outflow from the central star—an important observation, as this process has not been well understood.[citation needed]
- ^ a b c d e SIMBAD (15 January 2007). "Results for Stingray Nebula". SIMBAD, Centre de Données Astronomiques de Strasbourg.
- ^ a b c d Bobrowsky, M. (1994). "Narrowband HST imagery of the young planetary nebula Henize 1357". The Astrophysical Journal. 426: L47–L50. Bibcode:1994ApJ...426L..47B. doi:10.1086/187336.