3 The Beautiful Death
The Ring Nebula is a old relative of our Sun, but it’s dying as it runs out of hydrogen fuel at its core. The size of its gas cloud spans 10-trillion kilometers across as it explodes. At one time it was estimated to be twice the size of our Sun, although it gives scientists clues to what someday will happen to our Sun.
The Ring Nebula has many names: NASA also dubbed the star, ‘Cat’s Eye Nebula’ when the Hubble Space Telescope captured it in 1994, and it’s official label is NGC 6543.
The Ring Nebula’s estimated age is 1,000 years old, and it’s 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Draco. It’s shape now is like a hollow barrow with hot gases creating a rainbow lit interior. We use the term ‘Nebula’, which refers to the glow of spectacular colors!
