This splash of paint on the canvas of space is the planetary nebula NGC 6072, the dying embers of a ruined star that has reached the end of its sun-like life. Cocooned inside the nebula, within its ...

Astronomers have seen a lot of stars explode, but one unusual stellar death is forcing them to rethink what they thought they knew. In 2021, a star about 2.2 billion light-years away ended its life in ...

The image was retrieved in a joint effort between NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). It shows the Helix nebula, a dying star located 650 light-years away.

Stellar death is a complex and mysterious process — but in the case of a supernova known as 2023zkd, things were more gruesome than any astronomer had ever seen before. As its name suggests, this ...

When sun-like stars reach the end of their lives, they blossom into beautiful planetary nebulas. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.