The Boomerang Nebula in Polarized Light
14.09.2005

Why did the Boomerang Nebula form? The symmetric cloud dubbed the Boomerang appears to have been created by a high-speed wind of gas and dust blowing from an aging central star at speeds of nearly 600,000 kilometers per hour.

The Eye of an Hourglass Nebula
9.02.1996

What's happening in the eye-like center of this planetary nebula? The geometry revealed in this Hubble Space Telescope view of the central part of an "etched hourglass nebula" known as MyCn 18 presents a puzzle. First, the axis of this central region does not line up well with the outer hourglass structure.

Long Lovejoy and Little Dumbbell
26.02.2015

Buffeted by the solar wind, Comet Lovejoy's crooked ion tail stretches over 3 degrees across this telescopic field of view, recorded on February 20. The starry background includes awesome bluish star Phi Persei below, and pretty planetary nebula M76 just above Lovejoy's long tail.

Cat s Eye Hubble Remix
22.03.2008

Staring across interstellar space, the alluring Cat's Eye Nebula lies three thousand light-years from Earth. One of the most famous planetary nebulae in the sky, the Cat's Eye (NGC 6543) is over half a light-year across and represents a final, brief yet glorious phase in the life of a sun-like star.

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
30.07.2000

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all!

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
5.08.2001

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all!

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
26.04.1998

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all!

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
23.01.2005

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all!

NGC 2440 Nucleus: The Hottest Star?
30.11.1995

In the center of the above photograph lies a star with one of the hottest surface temperatures yet confirmed. This bright white dwarf star's surface has been measured at greater than 200,000 degrees Celsius - more than 30 times hotter than that of our own Sun.

NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
11.01.2004

Like a butterfly, a white dwarf star begins its life by casting off a cocoon that enclosed its former self. In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a caterpillar and the ejected shell of gas would become the prettiest of all!