European Southern Observatory: IC 5148, the beautiful planetary nebula located some 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Grus (October 15, 2012)

The Spare Tyre Nebula, IC 5148 // gmadkat

The Spare Tyre Nebula, IC 5148 // Jochen Maes

The Spare Tyre Nebula, IC 5148 // vikas chander

The Spare Tyre Nebula, IC 5148 // Alexandre Fagundes

From Cosmic Spare Tyre to Ethereal Blossom

Via Flickr: IC 5148 is a beautiful planetary nebula located some 3000 light-years away in the constellation of Grus (The Crane). The nebula has a diameter of a couple of light-years, and it is still growing at over 50 kilometres per second — one of the fastest expanding planetary nebulae known. The term “planetary nebula” arose in the 19th century, when the first observations of such objects — through the small telescopes available at the time — looked somewhat like giant planets. However, the true nature of planetary nebulae is quite different. More information: www.eso.org/public/images/potw1242a/ Credit: ESO