Happy New Years everyone! For my first post of the year I have decided to post about the Helix Nebula, which happens to be my favourite. Located in the constellation Aquarius at around 700 light years away, the Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula and is one of the closest to the Earth. The Helix Nebula is the result of the central star losing material to the surrounding space, creating this planetary nebula. This central star is destined to become white dwarf. The Helix Nebula was the first planetary nebula in which astronomers discovered cometary knots. These are called cometary knots due to their resemblance to comets, with bright cusps and long tails. To date, astronomers have found around 20,000 cometary knots within the Helix Nebula, all of which extend away from the central star. Some of these cometary knots are larger than our own solar system. Hope everyone has an amazing year! Image credit: NASA/ESA #astronomy #astronomer #astrophysics #space #cosmos #science #physics #universe #stars #planet #astronaut #constellation #interstellar #spacetravel #outerspace #instaspace #instalike #instafollow #astrobiology #Nasa #Hubble #telescope #galaxy #stargazing #starstuff #astrophysics_ - January 01, 2016 at 09:57PM Source: https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/l/t51.2885-15/e35/10979606_991583390915381_2121874045_n.jpg #nasa #space #iss #isro #mars #marsorbiter #outerspace #lightyears #milkyway #universe #galaxy #stars #sun #moon #saturn #jupiter #stumble #stumblespace

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