Explore a planetary nebula - a glowing shell around a white-dwarf core, using the Ring Nebula as the teaching case. Scrub age, play/pause expansion, and toggle the outer halo.
Published teaching figures (Ring Nebula): distance ~2,600 ly, shell ~20-30 km/s, core = white dwarf. Supernova Remnant 3D teaches fast shock shells; Star Lifecycle 3D teaches the timeline - this page teaches the planetary-nebula shell.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Scrub age, play/pause, or toggle the outer halo.
Planetary Nebula 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows a planetary nebula as a teaching schematic - not a photoionization model. Using the Ring Nebula (M57) as the literacy case: about 2,600 ly away, shells expanding near 20-30 km/s, with a hot white dwarf core.
Scrub age after shell ejection, play/pause expansion, or hide the outer halo for a clearer inner ring. Supernova Remnant 3D owns fast ~1,500 km/s shock shells; Star Lifecycle 3D owns evolutionary stages - this page owns the slow planetary-nebula shell around a white dwarf.
- Green inner ring shell with particle glow
- Purple outer halo wireframe (toggle)
- Bright white-dwarf core marker
- Age scrubber in kyr with play/pause
- Published ~2,600 ly / 20-30 km/s / white-dwarf teaching figures
- Distinct from supernova-remnant and star-lifecycle
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students see why planetary nebulae are not planets; teachers contrast slow shells with supernova remnants; curious readers connect white-dwarf cores to the glowing gas.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | ~2,600 ly | Ring Nebula (M57) literacy |
| Shell speed | ~20-30 km/s | Typical planetary-nebula expansion |
| Core | white dwarf | Not a neutron star |
| Contrast | vs ~1,500 km/s SNR | See Supernova Remnant 3D sibling |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational planetary-nebula schematic - not a photoionization or hydrodynamics model.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Planetary Nebula 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes Supernova Remnant 3D and Star Lifecycle 3D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Planetary Nebula 3D Explorer show?
A teaching schematic of a planetary nebula like the Ring Nebula - about 2,600 ly away, shells near 20-30 km/s, with a white-dwarf core and an age scrubber.
Why is it called planetary?
Early telescopes saw round discs that looked a bit like planets. The name stuck - these are glowing shells from dying low-mass stars, not planets.
How is this different from Supernova Remnant 3D?
Supernova Remnant 3D teaches fast ~1,500 km/s shock shells around a neutron star. This page teaches slow 20-30 km/s shells around a white dwarf.
How is this different from Star Lifecycle 3D?
Star Lifecycle 3D teaches evolutionary stages on a timeline. This page teaches the planetary-nebula shell geometry after the envelope is ejected.
What is the white dwarf here?
The hot leftover core that ionizes the ejected shell and makes the nebula glow. It is not a neutron star.
Is this a photoionization model?
No. It is an educational planetary-nebula schematic - not a photoionization or hydrodynamics solver.