Fact Sheet
Final Days
The last gasp of a dying star creates a colorful bubble of gas and dust in this false-color Hubble Space Telescope image. As the star reached the end of its life, it expelled its outer layers into space, forming a planetary nebula, known as NGC 2818. The nebula eventually will disperse into space, leaving behind only the star's hot, dense core, known as a white dwarf. The same fate awaits the Sun in several billion years. The red in this image is produced by nitrogen, green by hydrogen, and blue by oxygen. [NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)]
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