Officially named Kohoutek 4-55, this little-known planetary nebula lies within our Milky Way Galaxy.
"Planetary nebulae are the spectacular final display at the end of a giant star's life," Hubble astronomers said in a statement. "Once a red giant star has exhausted its available fuel and shed its last layers of gas, its compact core will contract further, enabling a final burst of nuclear fusion." "The exposed core reaches extremely hot temperatures, radiating very energetic ultraviolet light that energises the enormous clouds of cast-off gas." "Molecules in the gas are ionized and glow brightly." "Here, red and orange indicate nitrogen molecules, green is hydrogen and blue shows oxygen in the…