A planetary nebula is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.
NGC 1535
X-ray/optical composite image of the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543)
Two cameras aboard Webb Telescope captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132, and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is approximately 2,500 light-years away.
NGC 6326, a planetary nebula with glowing wisps of outpouring gas that are lit up by a binary central star
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.
An illustration of the structure of the Sun and its possible future as a red giant, comparing their structure and size.
This image tracks the life of a Sun-like star, from its birth on the left side of the frame to its evolution into a red giant on the right after billions of years
Mira A is an old star, already shedding its outer layers into space
