The Hubble Space Telescope records images of dying stars

The latest image of the planetary nebula NGC 2371/2 exiting the star in the Gemini constellation was taken and published by NASA last week.

Planetary nebula NGC 2371/2 is released from a dying star.(Photo: UPI).

The two huge luminescent clouds (located in the upper right corner and the lower left corner of the image) look like two separate objects, but these are actually parts of the planetary nebula NGC 2371/2 , which was expelled by a dying star in Gemini, about 4,400 light-years from Earth. The image was recorded by NASA's Hubble space telescope.

The planetary nebula NGC 2371/2 in fact has nothing to do with the planet as its name suggests, but is formed from a red giant like the Sun (at the center of the image). In the final phase of the star, it releases the outer shell into space, forming a glowing cloud. The phenomenon only takes place for a few tens of thousands of years, relatively short compared to the normal life of billions of years of a star.

According to experts at the European Space Agency (ESA), the planetary nebula NGC 2371/2 will continue to change over the next few thousand years before disappearing completely. The star will cool and fade, eventually becoming a white dwarf.

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