Stellar Evolution APOD: Methuselah Nebula MWP1

        This picture features a planetary nebula at a distance of 4,500 light years away. Planetary nebula is one of the final stages of stellar evolution as the central star is shrugging off its outer layers to advance to a white dwarf and eventually cease of the life of the star. This particular nebula is one of the largest known with a diameter of nearly 15 light years and can be found in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. The average planetary nebulae typically last 10 to 20 thousand years but Methuselah Nebula has an age of 150 thousand years which has given astronomers great insight into the evolution of its central star. This star type is unique as you can physically see the star’s outside layers being shed in the pink and blue colored debris surrounding the central star.