M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula

I selected the photograph from this link:

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130915.html

 

This star is transforming itself into a white dwarf by releasing gaseous envelopes. The expanded gas often forms a planetary nebula that fades over thousands of years. M2-9 is a butterfly planetary nebula 2100 light years away. In the center two stars orbit inside a gaseous disk. I find M2-9 really beautiful. The represented colors are really nice. I think that the shape of this planetary nebula is really awesome and it's interesting learning about why it forms and how.