NASA. DEEP SPACE. HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. The "Ink Abyss" in - Lot 325

NASA. DEEP SPACE. HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. The "Ink Abyss" in the Orion Constellation. Although it looks more like an entity seen through a microscope than a telescope, this rounded object is certainly no algae or tiny bloated jellyfish. Rather, it's a vast sphere of gas in space, expelled by an aging star. The star is visible at the center of the orb, shining through the gas to which it has clung for most of its stellar life. When stars like the Sun reach an advanced age, they expand and turn red. These red giants then begin to lose their outer layers of matter to space. More than half the mass of such a star can be lost in this way, forming a shell of surrounding gas. At the same time, the star's core shrinks and becomes hotter, emitting ultraviolet light that makes the expelled gas glow. This type of object is known, somewhat by confusion, as a planetary nebula, although it has nothing to do with planets. The name derives from the rounded, planet-like appearance of these objects in early telescopes. Vintage chromogenic print. Numbering on front. Label on back. 25.4 x 20.3CM with margins.