M2- Wings of a Butterfly Nebula

 Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low mass stars like own Sun and M2-9, the stars transform themselves from normal stars to white dwarf by casting off their outer gaseous envelopes.

The expanded gas frequently forms an impressive display called a planetary Nebula that fades gradually over thousands of years . M2-9, a Butterfly Planetary Nebula 2100 light - years away shown in representative colours, has wings that tell a strange but incomplete tale. 

In the center, the two stars orbit inside a gaseous disk 10 times the orbit of Pluto. The expelled envelope of the dying star breaks out from the disk creating the bipolar appearance. Much remains unknown about the physical processes that cause and Shape Planetary Nebulae.