5a. The Planetary Nebula
STAR LIFE · the gentle goodbye
A sun like star ends with grace: its bloated outer layers drift off into space as glowing, expanding shells, lit from inside by the exposed hot core. The results are among the most beautiful objects in the sky, rings, butterflies, cat's eyes. The name is an old mix up; early telescopes showed round smudges that resembled planets. The beauty stuck, the name too.
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