A combined image from Hubble Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Chile shows details in the Helix Nebula, the last gasp of a dying star. The nebula is shaped a bit like a barrel, and we’re looking down through the barrel. The star’s hot core, which is becoming a white dwarf, is at the center of the nebula. The nebula consists of the gas that made up the outer layers of the star, which are expanding into space. The debris is sometimes clumpy, forming finger-like structures. The Helix is about 700 light-years from Earth, and spans about three light-years. [C.R. O’Dell (Vanderbilt) et al./ESA/NOAO/NASA]
Find out more in our radio program entitled Aquarius.