NGC 5189 Distance: 1800 Light Years away from Earth The gaseous remains of a sunlike star which has entered its final stages of evolution. The intense radiation from the stellar remnant ionizes the stars previously ejected gases. The inner shell structures glow predominantly green-blue from ionized oxygen (OII and OIII) and nitrogen while hydrogen in the outer shell emits in the red wavelengths. The planetary nebula stage of an intermediate mass star lasts only 10 to 30 thousand years, an astronomical instant in the overall life of a star. Eventually the ejected envelope disperses into the interstellar medium enriching it with both light and heavier elements originally created deep within the nuclear furnace of the now dead star. Credit: Robert Gendler

NGC 5189

Distance: 1800 Light Years away from Earth

The gaseous remains of a sunlike star which has entered its final stages of evolution. The intense radiation from the stellar remnant ionizes the stars previously ejected gases. The inner shell structures glow predominantly green-blue from ionized oxygen (OII and OIII) and nitrogen while hydrogen in the outer shell emits in the red wavelengths.

The planetary nebula stage of an intermediate mass star lasts only 10 to 30 thousand years, an astronomical instant in the overall life of a star. Eventually the ejected envelope disperses into the interstellar medium enriching it with both light and heavier elements originally created deep within the nuclear furnace of the now dead star.

Credit: Robert Gendler