NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
			
		
		
		
			Will our 
Sun 
look like this one day?  
The Helix Nebula is the closest example of a planetary nebula created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. 
The outer gasses of the star 
expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a helix. 
The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so 
energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce. 
The Helix Nebula, given a technical designation of 
NGC 7293, 
lies about 650 light-years away towards the 
constellation of 
Aquarius and spans about 2.5 light-years. 
The above picture is a 
composite 
of newly released images from the 
ACS instrument on the 
Hubble Space Telescope 
and wide-angle images from the Mosaic Camera on the 
WIYN 
0.9-m Telescope at 
Kitt Peak National Observatory.  
A close-up 
of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots of 
unknown origin.