Hubble's Next Discovery, You Decide

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

NGC 6072 is called a planetary nebula, but it has nothing to do with planets. The nebula is really all that remains after the death of a star. When medium-sized stars run out of fuel, they shed their outer layers into space — something like blowing a smoke bubble amongst the stars. At the center rests the dying ember of the core of the star. Planetary nebulae can exhibit amazing and intricate structures.

Object Name: NGC 6072

Image Type: Astronomical

Credit: Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, and Palomar/Caltech, and UKSTU/AAO

NEWS RELEASE IMAGES

The above image is part of a montage:

Montage Image: Candidate Objects for 'Hubble's Next Discovery -- You Decide' Image Type: Astronomical/Illustration PRC2009-06b Star-Forming Region NGC 6334 Image Type: Astronomical Planetary Nebula NGC 40 Image Type: Astronomical Spiral Galaxy NGC 5172 Image Type: Astronomical Edge-on Galaxy NGC 4289 Image Type: Astronomical Interacting Galaxies Arp 274 Image Type: Astronomical

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