Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Lynx (Lyn)  ·  Contains:  PK164+31.1
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Jones-Emberson 1 (PK 164 +31), KuriousGeorge
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Jones-Emberson 1 (PK 164 +31)

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Jones-Emberson 1 (PK 164 +31), KuriousGeorge
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Jones-Emberson 1 (PK 164 +31)

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Description

Is this what will become of our Sun? Quite possibly. The bubble of expanding gas is the remnants of the atmosphere of a Sun-like star expelled as its supply of fusion-able core hydrogen became depleted. Visible near the center of the nebula is what remains of the core itself -- a blue-hot white dwarf star. This planetary nebula shows intricate shells of gas likely expelled at different times toward the end the star's demise, and whose structure is not fully understood. This image shows many other stars from our own Milky Way Galaxy as well as several galaxies far in the distance. PK 164 +31, also known as Jones-Emberson 1, lies about 1,600 light years away toward the constellation of the Wildcat (Lynx). Although the expanding nebula will fade away over the next few thousand years, the central white dwarf may well survive for billions of years.

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