Hubble Telescope Captures Breathtaking View of Dying Star

The Hubble Space Telescope captured twin beams of light piercing through the surrounding clouds of gas and dust of a star located about 1,000 light-years from Earth.

This extraordinary image of the Egg Nebula offers scientists a rare glimpse of a star shedding its material into space, laying the groundwork for future generations of stars and planets.

The nebula gets its name because its central star resembles a yolk, while the surrounding clouds look like egg white. Unlike most nebulae, its light does not originate from ionized gas but comes directly from the star itself, escaping through openings in its dusty shell.

This visualization examines the Hubble image of the Egg Nebula and showcases the shape and development of its three-dimensional components. There's more about the Egg Nebula in the news release: https://t.co/GgfwmsxMWg pic.twitter.com/prBrscmtqI

— Space Telescope Science Institute (@SpaceTelescope) February 11, 2026

Far from being just a breathtaking view, the Egg Nebula serves as a crucial scientific laboratory. NASA classifies it as the “first, smallest, and closest preplanetary nebula ever discovered.”

Preplanetary nebulae represent an early phase of planetary nebulae, the glowing shells ejected by sun-like stars as they approach the end of their lives. Despite their name, these nebulae are not directly linked to planets. However, they sow the material that will eventually form new planetary systems, similar to our own solar system.

This phase is brief, lasting only a few thousand years, making the Egg Nebula a rare opportunity to observe stellar death in real time. As the star’s core heats up, it will begin to ionize the surrounding gas, causing the nebula to glow with its own light and signaling its transition to the next stage of evolution.

Scientists have noted from the start the nebula’s strikingly symmetrical light structure, suggesting a coordinated series of emissions rather than a violent event like a supernova. NASA suggests these may be “intermittent, orchestrated bursts” from the star’s carbon-rich core, a phenomenon still not fully understood and requiring further study.