Twin jet nebula, a butterfly in the night sky

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Red giant stars at the end of their lives eject glowing shells of ionized gas that expand with high velocities through the interstellar medium. These objects are known as planetary nebulae (PNe). The scene is an artist representation of one of most popular PNe, the Twin Jet Nebula (aka Butterfly Nebula), and is inspired by spectacular images collected with the Hubble Space Telescope in the last years (see figure below). Located about 2,100 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus, it was discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in 1947. As many other PNe, the twin jet nebula has a morphology that recalls the wings of a butterfly. This is due to twin lobes of gas expanding from the central star. The ultraviolet radiation from the star energizes the ejected material, causing it to appear as a brightly coloured PN. Our Sun is expected to form a PN at the end of its life cycle.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Schmidt