The incredible-looking “Necklace Nebula” is located approximately 15,000 light-years away from Earth in the small, dim constellation of Sagitta (the Arrow) and caused by the interaction of two dying stars that formed a spectacular ring surrounded by bright clumps of gas. Technically speaking, this pair of tightly orbiting Sun-like stars created the Necklace Nebula (PN G054.203.4) when one of the aging stars expanded and engulfed its smaller companion, creating a “common envelope,” roughly 10,000 years ago.
The smaller star then continued to orbit inside its larger partner, thus increasing the giant’s rotation rate until large parts of it spun outwards into space. It was this escaping ring of debris that eventually formed the Necklace Nebula, consisting of dense clumps of gas that appear as bright “diamonds” around the ring.
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The pair of stars which created the Necklace Nebula remain so close together – separated by only several million miles – that they appear as a single bright dot in the center of this image. Despite their close encounter, the stars are still furiously whirling around each other, completing an orbit in just over a day,” said NASA.
