Butterfly Nebula NGC 6302 (Webb & ALMA image) ESA512085

Free photos, properly licensed

This image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy.Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20 000 years.At the centre of the Butterfly Nebula is the ancien