NGC 6302
Butterfly Nebula
HaOIIILRGB 2460 2520 407 296 296 294 min.
ASA RC 16“ f/8
ASA DDM 100
NGC 6302 (also known as the Butterfly Nebula, or Caldwell 69) is a bipolar type planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpius. The structure in this planetary nebula is among the most complex ever seen in any planetary nebulae. The spectrum of Butterfly Nebula shows that its central star, a white dwarf, has a current mass of around 0.64 solar masses, is one of the hottest stars known, with a surface temperature in excess of 250,000 degrees Celsius. This implies that the star from which it formed must have been very large in order to become this hot. The star is surrounded by a dense equatorial disc composed of gas and dust. This dense disc is postulated to have caused the star's outflows to form the bipolar structure seen in the nebula.