What we can learn from dying stars and their stunning light shows

Today's Image of the Day from the James Webb Space Telescope features the planetary nebula NGC 6072, located about 3,200 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.  The nebula was formed from the outer layers of a dying star and shaped by complex interactions that likely involved a hidden companion star. When stars like our Sun reach the end of their lives, they don’t go quietly. They erupt - slowly, over thousands of years - shedding their outer layers into space and creating glowing...