The Hubble Space Telescope took a picture of the planetary nebula PK 329-02.2, also known as ESO 178-15 or Hen 2-150 and commonly called Menzel 2 (Mz 2) because it was discovered by the astronomer Donald Menzel in 1922. Distant little more 7,700 light years from Earth, it’s visible in the constellation Norma and is another case in which a planetary nebula offers a breathtaking show, in this case with a blue cloud that aligns with the two stars at its center.

A planetary nebula is composed of ionized gases that emit electromagnetic radiation. The name was given in the 18th century by the astronomer William Herschel, who thought that they were planets in formation. Today we know that these are different phenomena but the name stuck.

Planetary nebulae can form when a star with a mass similar to that of the Sun becomes a red giant and its outer layers are ejected. The ionization caused by the intense ultraviolet emitted from the star’s core means that these layers of gas in turn emit electromagnetic radiation.

In the case of the Menzel 2 nebula, the astronomers discovered only in 1999 that the star that in the image is at the upper right is the central one in this nebula. The star at the bottom left is probably a companion with which it forms a binary system.

The presence of two stars at the center of the nebula Menzel 2 is one of its special features. Each planetary nebula takes different shapes depending on the conditions in which it develops and in this case the two central stars are surrounded by a blue cloud perfectly aligned with them.

Planetary nebulae have a limited life in astronomical terms, meaning that tens of thousands of years is a very short time compared to the billions of years in view of the stars that generate them. Someone was in the shape of the nebula Menzel 2 a final goodbye before the star becomes a white dwarf. I think it takes some imagination but certainly it’s a spectacular formation!

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