This nebula is one-tenth the size of most planetary nebulae because it is so young. It is 18 000 light-years away in the direction of the southern constellation Ara (the Altar). Because of its small size, no details of the Stingray Nebula were visible before Hubble observations were first carried out in 1993. Those images were the first to show the structure of the nebula. This image was taken in 1997.