Sequence of Planetary Nebula Images
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Planetary nebulas - so called because some of them resemble a planet when viewed through a small telescope - are produced in the late stages of a sun-like star's life. In this sequence, composite images of four different planetary nebulas are shown. In these images of Mz 3, BD+30-3639, Hen 3-1475, and NGC 7027, Chandra's X-ray data are seen in blue, while green and red are optical and infrared data from Hubble.
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(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al. Optical, BD +30 & Hen 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. MD/J.P.Harrington; Optical, NGC 7027: NASA/STScI/Caltech/J.Westphal & W.Latter; Optical, Mz 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. Washington/B.Balick)