Earlier telescopes, including Hubble, revealed the Helix as a serene, eye-shaped glow. Webb presents a more intimate view, ...

First identified in the early 19th century, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest to Earth, located about 650 light-years ...

What might the solar system resemble if the sun were to shed its outer atmosphere, leaving its core behind? A fresh perspective on the Helix Nebula, an iconic planetary nebula known as NGC 7293, using ...

The Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57, sits about 2,000 light-years from Earth. It is a planetary nebula—a misleading ...

The Helix Nebula is one of the most well-known and commonly photographed planetary nebulae because it resembles the “ Eye of ...

When a star runs out of fuel, it sheds its outer layers of gas and, if it doesn't explode in a supernova, forms a glowing shell of ionized gas that expands into space. Shells like these are known as ...

NASA, Donald Walter/South Carolina State University/Paul Scowen/ Brian Moore/Arizona State University A glimpse up at the night sky will reveal a seemingly endless landscape of twinkling stars, but ...

A way of estimating more accurate distances to the thousands of so-called planetary nebulae dispersed across our galaxy has been announced. The announcement was made by a team of three astronomers ...

The space between stars is dotted with twisting towers studded with stars, unblinking eyes, ethereal ribbons, and floating bubbles. These fantastical shapes, some of the universe’s most visually ...

Planetary nebulae represent a brief, yet illuminating, phase in the evolution of low- to intermediate-mass stars. These glowing shells of ionised gas are shed in the late stages of stellar development ...

Many good things come in threes: the Three Musketeers, the Three Tenors, movie and book trilogies, and more. There seems to be something symmetrical, beautiful, and satisfying when using the power of ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. Each spring it becomes possible—for only a few short weeks, ...