Scientists captured a stunning image of a "diamond ring" in outer space.
The research team used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to capture the image of the nebula dubbed Abell 33, the news release reported. The FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS) instrument attached to VLR made the crystal-clear image possible.
The image captured an elderly star that violently blew off its outer layer creating what appears to be a giant blue bubble. The bubble could be aligned with a "foreground star." The image very closely resembles a diamond engagement ring.
Most stars with masses similar to our own Sun die as white dwarfs, which are "small, very dense, and hot bodies that slowly cool down over billions of years," the news release reported.
As these stars meet their demise they toss of their top layer and release it into space, this creates a planetary nebula, which are colorful clouds of gas.
The new ESO image shows the "remarkably round" nebula Abell 33. The nebula sits about 2500 light-years away from Earth. Very few nebulas of this type are as perfectly round as Abell 33; In almost all cases something disturbs the nebula's symmetry.
The bright star seen on the outer rim of the nebula is aligned with the blue gas could by chance. The star, dubbed HD 83535, sits in the foreground of the nebula on the side closer to Earth; this positioning is what allowed for the stunning "diamond engagement ring" illusion.
Abell 33's "progenitor star," which will soon morph into a white dwarf, can be seen in the center of the "engagement ring."
"It is still bright - more luminous than our own Sun - and emits enough ultraviolet radiation to make the bubble of expelled atmosphere glow," the news release reported.
