Hubble image of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57) - space

This new image shows the dramatic shape and colour of the Ring Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 57.\r\n\r\nFrom Earth’s perspective, the nebula looks like a simple elliptical shape with a shaggy boundary. However, new observations combining existing ground-based data with new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope data show that the nebula is shaped like a distorted doughnut. This doughnut has a rugby-ball-shaped region of lower-density material slotted into in its central “gap”, stretching towards and away from us.\r\n\r\n\r\nCredit:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nNASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University).\r\n