Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for June 2, 1998 is “NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Very Large Telescope, ESO). The original explanation runs about 116 words.

NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Very Large Telescope, ESO Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The Butterfly Nebula is only thousands of years old. As a central star of a binary system aged, it threw off its outer envelopes of gas in a strong stellar wind .”

— APOD editors, June 2, 1998

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
June 2, 1998
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: Very Large Telescope, ESO
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 116 words

All of June 1998 → · 1998 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: June 2 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Electronics Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB Read astronomy and space-history books anywhere. View on Amazon → Electronics Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones Noise-cancelling headphones for documentaries and launch livestreams. View on Amazon →

Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.