The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Hot X-ray-emitting gas detected by ESA’s XMM-Newton reveals the Eskimo’s blue face shining at 2 million degrees Celsius. It is framed by complex shells of ejected stellar material and a fur-lined hood, seen in optical wavelengths by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (red and green).
The Eskimo Nebula, or NGC 2392, is located about 4000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Gemini. Astronomer William Herschel discovered the nebula in 1787.
The Eskimo Nebula was observed by XMM-Newton’s EPIC instrument on 2 April 2004. The field of view is 1.33 x 1.33 arcmin.
This image was featured as our Space Science Image of the Week on 11 February 2013.