Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), composite image. This object is a planetary nebula, a dying star ejecting its dusty outer layers. The image was obtained by combining infrared (yellow, green and red) and ultraviolet (UV, blue) data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). The ejected layers are glowing due to the intense UV radiation from the collapsed stellar core, a white dwarf (not visible at this scale). Some data in the outer regions of the image is from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The Helix Nebula, about 2.5 light years across, is 650 light years distant, in the constellation of Aquarius. Image published in 2012.