Object Analysis

The Little Ghost Nebula (NGC 6369) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by William Herschel. It is located about 2,000 to 5,000 light-years away. The nebula gets its name from its faint, ghostly appearance in small telescopes, where it looks like a dim, round cloud.

The nebula has a distinctive ring-like structure, caused by the dying central star shedding its outer layers. The central star is a hot white dwarf that is flooding the gas with ultraviolet radiation. Interestingly, the nebula is surrounded by a much fainter outer halo that is only visible in deep exposures.

Detailed images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the ring is not perfectly smooth; it is composed of many small, comet-like knots and filaments. These are likely cool, dense clumps of gas that are being eroded by the intense stellar wind, similar to those found in the Helix Nebula.