Behold: the final stage in the evolution of a star similar to our sun…also known as a planetary nebula. Glowing like a multifaceted jewel, this nebula will gradually disperse into space over the next several thousand years, and then the star will cool and fade away for billions of years as a white dwarf. Our own sun is expected to undergo a similar fate, but fortunately, this will not occur until some 5 billion years from now. Credit: NASA/The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) #nasa #space #astrophysics #planetarynebula #nebula #sun #billions #hubble #telescope #galaxy #universe #picoftheday #nofilter #star