Each day we feature a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. It is an aging star about 3,000 lightyears distant, entering its Planetary Nebula phase of evolution. The searchlight appearance is created as light from the star shines more easily through the thinner parts of the cocoon.
Dust particles in the expanding cloud scatter and reflect the starlight making the beams visible.
The sharpness of the HST image reveals a wealth of detail which will help to understand this complex and spectacular part of the stellar lifecycle . Specific rights apply.