A rare ‘cosmic butterfly’ unfurls its wings in this telescoped image
This highly detailed image of the fantastic NGC 2899 planetary nebula was captured using the FORS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. (ESO/)Over 3,000 light years away, a “cosmic butterfly” rears its vibrantly colored wings amongst a meadow of glowing stars. These bubbles of sky blue and fuschia gas were captured by the Very Large Telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, and haven’t yet been captured in such stunning, intricate detail. The swath of gas, a planetary nebula named NGC 2899, is nestled somewhere between 3,000 and 6,500 light years away in the constellation Vela, which is visible from Earth’s southern hemisphere. Planetary nebulae were first named by astronomer William Herschel in 1782, who cited their resemblance to planets—but the structures are actually the last heroic stands of enormous, dying stars. After they’ve run out of fuel to burn, which can happen after anywhere from millions...