Dying Star Sculpts Rungs of Gas and Dust

Running Time: 26 seconds

An animated movement over the Red Rectangle showing the rung-type structures. Astronomers interpret the X-shaped structure as outflows of gas and dust from the star in the center. The star in the center of the Red Rectangle is one that began its life as a star similar to our Sun. It is now nearing the end of its lifetime, and is in the process of ejecting its outer layers to produce the visible nebula. This image was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.

Animation Credit: NASA and L. Barranger (STScI)