Poster The Beetles Nebula NGC 6302

Decorative print of an image taken by the Hubble Telescope. © NASA

NGC 6302, also known as the Beetle Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpio, located 4,000 light-years from Earth.

NGC 6302 was formed by an ageing star called HD 155520 when it ejected its outer shell in the form of extremely fast gas streams over the past 2,200 years.

NGC 6302 was discovered in 1880 by American astronomer Edward Barnard.