Icy Blue Wings of Hen 2-437: In this cosmic snapshot, the spectacularly symmetrical wings of Hen 2-437 show up in a magnificent icy blue hue. Hen 2-437 is a planetary nebula, one of around 3,000 such objects known to reside within the Milky Way. Planetary nebulae such as Hen 2-437 form when an aging low-mass star - such as the sun - reaches the final stages of life. The star swells to become a red giant, before casting off its gaseous outer layers into space. The star itself then slowly shrinks to form a white dwarf, while the expelled gas is slowly compressed and pushed outwards by stellar winds. As shown by its remarkably beautiful appearance, Hen 2-437 is a bipolar nebula - the material ejected by the dying star has streamed out into space to create the two icy blue lobes pictured here.
Image credit: ESA (European Space Agency)/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
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