Hubble Captures Brilliant Star Death in “Rotten Egg” Nebula

The Calabash Nebula, pictured here – which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 – is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the sun. This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space.