Image from the NTU telescope

This image shows a planetary nebular.

After 4.5 billion years, our Sun will stop burning hydrogen and will die peacefully, like all stars similar to it. There will be no spectacular supernova explosion when our Sun reaches the end of its life; it will create a planetary nebula, similar to the one imaged above.

This image shows the 1,600 year old galactic planetary nebula, M 57, also known as the 'ring nebula'; it is 2,300 lightyears away.

The M 57 appears as a ring. This is because the dying star that created it, has thrown off most of its material in an ever expanding shell. When we view it from Earth, it looks like a very thin-skinned balloon. We cannot see much of it when looking at its centre, but the 'skin' is clearly visible around the edges.

This picture was taken on the 20 September 2008. It is a colour composite of three images taken by the 50 inch NTU telescope:

• The blue channel is a 5 x 1 minute long exposure in OIII
• The green channel is a 4 x 1 minute long exposure in H alpha
• The red part is a 5 x 1 minute long exposure in SII

The different filters (OIII, H alpha, and SII) allow certain colours of light, present in planetary nebula, to be viewed.

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