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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

🌌 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Shapley 1: An Annular Planetary Nebula Credit and Copyright:

Date: 1997-02-15

Shapley 1: An Annular Planetary Nebula
Credit and Copyright:

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Explanation:

What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel?
The center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmospheric
layers are expelled into space and appear as a planetary nebula.
This particular planetary nebula,
designated Shapley 1 after the famous astronomer Harlow Shapley,
has a very apparent annular ring like structure. Although some
of these nebula appear like planets on the sky (hence their name),
they actually surround stars far outside our Solar System.