4 August 2024 A Hawaii telescope just captured a sun-like star's glowing remains after it collapsed in a supernova explosion. The resulting butterfly-shaped nebula is a sight to behold. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Kohoutek 3-46 is a planetary nebula captured by the Geminin North telescope. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Image processing: J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF's NOIRLab)) What it is: Kohoutek 3-46, a planetary nebula. Where it is: 7,200 light-years distant in the constellation Cygnus. When it was shared: July 24, 2024. Why it's so special: Death comes violently for massive stars. As they burn through their fuel and begin to cool, pressure drops and gravity takes control. A core collapse can follow, causing a bright supernova explosion. However, that's not how all stars end their lives. When a smaller star about one to eight times the size of the sun exhausts its fuel, it expands into a cool red giant star. Eventually, it expels its outer layers of atmosphere. Those layers can glow for thousands of years in beautiful colors and shapes, illuminated by light from the star's leftover core, also called a white dwarf.