Planetary nebula NGC 3132. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of the planetary nebula NGC 3132, the Eight-burst, or Southern Ring nebula. The nebula is the result of a dying star ejecting its outer layers as it reaches the end of its life. The star which ejected this gas is the faint star seen above the brighter star at the centre of the nebula. The blue colour represents the hottest parts of the gaseous shell, with the red/orange areas being cooler gas and dust. The dark filaments extending across the blue areas are dust bands which have coalesced from the ejected gases. NGC 3132 is around 2000 light years away.