When a star runs out of fuel, it sheds its outer layers of gas and, if it doesn't explode in a supernova, forms a glowing shell of ionized gas that expands into space. Shells like these are known as ...

Astronomers have used the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) New Technology Telescope (NTT) and the Hubble Space Telescope to explore more than 100 planetary nebulae in the central bulge of our ...

The NGC 2264 is a vast stellar complex located in the Monoceros constellation, about 2,600 light-years away. It includes two ...

NASA, Donald Walter/South Carolina State University/Paul Scowen/ Brian Moore/Arizona State University A glimpse up at the night sky will reveal a seemingly endless landscape of twinkling stars, but ...

As we continue to break new ground in the field of cosmology, the importance of carefully categorizing the objects we see comes into focus. Part of this stems from the fact that, increasingly, we find ...

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 ...

Nebulae are interstellar clouds of gas and dust, initially mistaken for galaxies by early astronomers. Diffuse nebulae lack defined shapes and include reflection nebulae (reflecting starlight), ...

Compass needles? Astronomers have discovered something weird in the Milky Way's galactic bulge - a population of planetary nebula are all mysteriously pointing in the same direction. They noticed the ...

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 ...

A team of astronomers has discovered a new class of object which they call "Super Planetary Nebulae." The new objects are unusually strong radio sources. Whereas the existing population of planetary ...