Object Analysis

The Pencil Nebula (NGC 2736) is a small part of the Vela Supernova Remnant, located near the Vela Pulsar in the constellation Vela. It gets its name from its linear, pencil-like appearance. It resides about 815 light-years away from our Solar System.

The nebula's linear appearance is actually an optical illusion; it is a shock wave seen edge-on. It is moving at roughly 644,000 kilometers per hour (400,000 mph). As the shock wave from the supernova explosion plows through the interstellar medium, it heats the gas, causing it to glow in visible light.

The Pencil Nebula is the brightest part of the huge Vela shell. Its distinctive blue and red colors in photography come from ionized oxygen and hydrogen atoms, respectively. It is estimated to be roughly 11,000 years old, the remnant of a star that exploded when human civilization was just beginning to form.