It may not be the Mutara Nebula from “The Wrath of Khan,” but it’s still amazing and beautiful. A La Salle Observatory telescope has captured a new color-composite iimage of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293). The observatory is in Chile.
The blue-green glow in the center is caused by oxygen atoms heated by the intense ultraviolet radiation of the 216,000 degree central star.
Um, link to original? I’d love to see higher res and am too lazy to google.
Aha! Its the La Silla Observatory.
Link: http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/press-rel/pr-2009/pr-07-09.html