Hubble's View of Planetary Nebula NGC 2440 (IMAGE)

European Space Agency

Hubble's View of Planetary Nebula NGC 2440

Caption

This Hubble image of NGC 2440 shows the last colorful display of a star like our Sun in the act of dying. The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star's remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-out star, called a white dwarf, is the white dot in the center.

Credit

ESA, K. Noll (STScI)

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