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Planetary Nebulae

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This ultraviolet image from NASA Galaxy Evolution Explorer shows NGC 3242, a planetary nebula frequently referred to as Jupiter Ghost. The small circular white and blue area at the center of the image is the well-known portion of the nebula.
This trio of ghostly images from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows the disembodied remains of dying stars called planetary nebulas. Planetary nebulas are a late stage in a sun-like star life.
An infrared photo of the Small Magellanic Cloud taken by NASA Spitzer Space Telescope is shown in this artist illustration; an example of a planetary nebula, and a magnified depiction of buckyballs.
NGC 7293, better known as the Helix nebula, displays its ultraviolet glow courtesy of NASA GALEX. The Helix is the nearest example of a planetary nebula, which is the eventual fate of a star, like our own Sun, as it approaches the end of its life.
SOFIA mid-infrared image of the planetary nebula Minkowski 2-9 (M2-9), also known as the Butterfly Nebula,
Astronomers using NASA Hubble Space Telescope stumbled upon a mysterious object that grudgingly yielded clues to its identity. The object is classified as a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a dying, lightweight star.
This image of the Helix Nebula from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a fine web of filamentary bicycle-spoke features embedded in the colorful red and blue gas ring, which is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth.
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