Eskimo Nebula

The nebula earned its nickname because its visual structure strongly resembles a face surrounded by a thick fur parka hood, much like traditional Inuit winter garments. The central glowing disk looks like a face, while the outer ring of gas and filaments resembles the fur lining. In modern astronomy, it is also sometimes referred to as the 'Clown Face Nebula.'

The Eskimo Nebula is officially cataloged as NGC 2392 in the New General Catalogue. It was first discovered by the famous astronomer William Herschel in 1787. He initially noted it as a double star surrounded by nebulosity before larger telescopes revealed its true structure.

The Eskimo Nebula is located in the northern constellation of Gemini. It sits roughly 6,500 light-years away from Earth. It is bright enough to be easily observed by amateur astronomers using medium-sized backyard telescopes during the winter months.

The Eskimo Nebula is a bipolar planetary nebula with a highly complex, double-shell structure. The inner portion is a bright oval of gas actively being pushed outward by the fierce stellar winds of the central star. The outer 'hood' consists of older, filamentary gas that was ejected much earlier and is glowing due to intense ultraviolet radiation.