Astronomy video imaging

Shapley 1 is a planetary nebula located in Norma. The nebula's ring shape makes it unusual due to most planetary nebulae being roughly spherical. Planetary nebulae received their name not because they are planets, but because when viewed by early astronomers they appeared very similar to a planetary object. The small star at it's center of is a white dwarf star, a "white dwarf star" is a star which is at the end of its life cycle. It has blown off its outside layers so that only a dense core remains. Shapley 1 is about 1000 light years from Earth.