Post #58

Hello, 2022! In this case, the nebula called NGC 2022. This #HubbleClassic view shows a planetary nebula, which is a confusing name because it has nothing to do with planets! It’s really just a dying star casting off its outer layers of material. When astronomers looked at the sky through early telescopes, they found many indistinct, cloudy forms. They called such objects “nebulae,” Latin for clouds. Some of the fuzzy objects resembled planets, and these earned the name “planetary nebulae.” Image credits: Howard Bond (STScI) and NASA/ESA