Now that’s a statement necklace! 💎 Captured here by the NASAHubble, is an interaction between two doomed stars, which creates this spectacular ring adorned with bright clumps of gas — a diamond necklace of cosmic proportions. Located about 15,000 light-years away, this nebula is part of a small dim constellation of Sagitta (the arrow). Roughly 10,000 years ago, one of the aging stars expanded and engulfed its smaller companion. The smaller star continued to orbit inside its larger companion, increasing the bloated giant’s rotation rate until large parts of it spun outwards into space. This escaping ring of debris formed the Necklace Nebula. Separated by only several million miles – the pair of stars appear as a single bright dot in the center of this image. Despite their close encounter, the stars are still furiously whirling around each other, completing an orbit in just over a day. Credit: NASA, ESA, K. Noll #HubbleFriday #IcedOut #Nebula #Astronomy