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Science

Ptah

(33,032 posts) Sun Sep 15, 2013, 06:56 PM Sep 2013

Astronomy Picture of the Day : 2013 September 15: M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula

Astronomy Picture of the Day : 2013 September 15

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130915.html

M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula
Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA - Processing: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually
create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low-mass stars like our Sun and
M2-9 pictured above, the stars transform themselves from normal stars to white dwarfs by
casting off their outer gaseous envelopes.