Fact Sheet
An Eye on the Helix
A dying star surrounds itself with a spectacular cloud of gas and dust in this infrared image from the orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope. The cloud is known as the Helix Nebula. It formed as a star's outer layers puffed into space. Dense knots of material form streaks that point back toward the central star. [Credit: NASA/JPL/J. Hora (CfA)/W. Latter (NASA/Herschel)]
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