Egg Nebula appears in new Hubble image as nearby pre-planetary nebula

Hubble's new picture of the Egg Nebula, the nearest known pre-planetary nebula, shows concentric dust shells and twin polar beams; the image was made by combining new observations with Hubble data from 1997, 2003 and 2012.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new image of the Egg Nebula. The picture shows a bright beam of starlight shining through concentric rings of fresh dust that were expelled from a star near the end of its life. The Egg Nebula is noted as the first, youngest and closest known pre-planetary nebula, a fleeting stage before a full planetary nebula forms. Pre-planetary nebulae last only a few thousand years and are typically faint, so the Egg Nebula offers a rare, detailed look. Key details: - The new image combines recent Hubble observations with earlier Hubble data from 1997, 2003 and 2012. - Light in the Egg Nebula now comes from the central star, which expelled a dense disk of dust a few hundred years ago. - Dust blocks the star directly, and light escapes through polar openings to form twin beams or searchlight-like features. - Concentric arcs and overall symmetry indicate the star has been shedding mass in regular episodes rather than exploding in a chaotic supernova. - Other well-known planetary nebulae include the Helix, Stingray and Butterfly nebulae, but the Egg Nebula is unusually young and nearby. Summary: The image provides astronomers with a detailed view of the brief transition when sunlike stars exhaust their fuel and begin to shed outer layers. Undetermined at this time.