| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
Hubble Space Telescope view of IC 4406
| |
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 14h22m 26.278s[1] |
| Declination | −44° 09′ 04.35″[1] |
| Distance | 2.0 kly (600 pc)[2] ly |
| Constellation | Lupus |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | -0.3 |
| Notable features | - |
| Designations | Retina Nebula[3] |
| See also: Lists of nebulae | |
IC 4406, sometimes known as the Retina Nebula,[4] is a planetary nebula near the western border of the constellation Lupus, the Wolf. It has dust clouds and has the shape of a torus. Despite this, it looks somewhat rectangular because it is seen from its side as viewed from Earth, almost in the plane[2] of its equator.
IC 4406 is bipolar and appears to be a prolate spheroid with strong concentrations of material in its equator.[3] This kind of structure is a natural product of a bipolar model.[3] The knots of IC 4406 have a "lacy" appearance and have no ordered symmetry towards the central star.[2] The knots have no tails.[2] None of the features have bright edges.[2] At least 5 faint ring-like structures, seen as arcs north and south of the main nebula, have been detected in Very Large Telescope observations.[5]
The central star of the planetary nebula has a spectral type similar to that of a Wolf–Rayet star.[6] An analysis of Gaia data suggests that it may be a binary system.[7]
![IC 4406 seen with MUSE instrument and the Adaptive Optics Facility.[8]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_planetary_nebula_IC_4406_seen_with_MUSE_and_the_AOF.jpg)
Media related to IC 4406 at Wikimedia Commons
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