Image of the "Owl Nebula" M97 (NGC 3587), by George Jacoby of the KPNO. The morphology pattern is less obvious than for other planetary nebulae. From the recent additions to George Jacoby's Planetary Nebula gallery

The Owl Nebula, Messier 97. This image was obtained using a narrow-band filter around H-alpha during twilight, so it is perhaps not up to the usual standards of this site. The central star is visible, along with the two darker regions that gave the Owl its name. This structure likely tells us that this nebula has the barrel- or hourglass-like symmetry that has been revealed in many planetary nebulae.

Data by W. Keel from the Lowell Observatory 1.1-meter telescope. From Bill Keel's image collection at the University of Alabama.

Last Modification: 20 Jun 1999 11:00 MET