Planetary nebulae represent a brief, yet illuminating, phase in the evolution of low- to intermediate-mass stars. These glowing shells of ionised gas are shed in the late stages of stellar development ...

The new picture, taken by the Hubble Space telescope, suggests the Nebula is actually cylindrical in shape and that from Earth we see it almost on end, so it looks like a circle. The Nebula was first ...

Planetary nebulae are the remnants of stars roughly one-to-eight times the size of the sun surrounded by hot gas lit up by ultraviolet radiation. Kastner hopes that through a comprehensive campaign of ...

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled a mesmerizing image of NGC 6369, a planetary nebula known as the “Little Ghost Nebula.” Located about 2,000 to 5,000 light-years from Earth, this glowing ...

Some 3,000 light years away, shimmering layers of gas formed an almost perfect sphere around the faintly glowing, burned-out core of a dead star. The result looks like a giant crystal ball floating in ...

The Hubble community bids farewell to the soon-to-be decommissioned Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 onboard NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. In tribute to Hubble’s longest-running optical camera, ...

The Butterfly Nebula is changing, and astronomers are puzzled as to why these changes are occurring. Observations of this planetary nebula show dramatic changes in the butterfly’s ‘wings’ in just 11 ...

If you have access to an 8-inch or larger telescope, look in the northern part of the constellation Andromeda the Princessfor ...

(Please attempt/guess/answer the poll before reading the 'spoilered' calculations.) A question I've pondered, on occasion, is how much "mass" is in a 'planetary nebula' (the kind of nebula which ...

The Dumbbell Nebula (M27), discovered in 1764, is the first planetary nebula identified and is notable for its brightness and distinctive shape. Its appearance, described variously as a dumbbell, ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. It’s one of the most common words used by astronomers—and ...