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| The Helix Nebula is a vast glowing cloud of Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and other elements some 450 light years away toward the constellation Aquarius. The nebula is made up of gas ejected from a dying star, which is located off the image to the lower left. This image shows hundreds of drop-like "knots," which are formed when hot gas thrown off from the surface of the star collides with the cooler surrounding material. Thousands of these knots emanate from the star in a radial pattern, each one stretching for about 100 billion miles. The Helix nebula is about two light years across. |
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