Spirograph Nebula
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The Spirograph Nebula (also known as Planetary Nebula IC 418 or IC 418) is a planetary nebula in the Milky Way Galaxy. It gets its name from its resemblance to drawings from the Spirograph cyclical drawing tool, and shows patterns that are not well understood. Perhaps they are related to chaotic winds from the variable central star, which changes brightness unpredictably in just a few hours.
By contrast, evidence indicates that only a few million years ago, IC 418 was probably a well-understood star similar to our Sun. Only a few thousand years ago, IC 418 was probably a common red giant star. Since running out of nuclear fuel, though, the outer envelope has begun expanding outward leaving a hot remnant core destined to become a white dwarf star.
IC 418 lies about 2000 light-years away and spans 0.3 light-years across.
External links
- NASA APOD - IC 418: The Spirograph Nebula (http://www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~apod/apod/ap000907.html)