Fact Sheet
Planetary Nebula IC 418
An enormous glowing shell of gas envelopes the core stellar remnant that together make up the planetary nebula IC 418 about 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Lepus, the hare. The nebula, spanning about one-tenth of a light-year, was formed when its central star -- a red giant a few thousand years ago -- ejected its outer layers into space. The star's hot core floods the surrounding gas with ultraviolet radiation, causing it to glow like a fluorescent bulb.
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