
This recently submitted image looks nothing like the ringed planet Saturn we all know and love.
It turns out that there is a planetary nebula named the Saturn Nebula. SkyView displays images of objects outside our solar system so when “saturn” was entered as a target on the SkyView Query Form the name resolvers we use to identify coordinates returned coordinates for the Saturn Nebula. Planetary nebulae are clouds of interstellar matter ejected by stars as they die. Planetary nebulae are not related to planets but were given the name when they were discovered because they looked like gaseous planets.
The Saturn Nebula is also known as NGC 7009 and is in the constellation Aquarius approximately 1400 light years away. Here is another image of this object.
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