The first image of a new gaseous component in a planetary nebula

After shining for many millions of years, stars end their lives, mainly, in two ways: very high mass stars die very violently as supernovae, while low mass stars end as planetary nebulae. In both cases they throw out into the interstellar medium the chemical elements synthesized in the interiors of the stars. For that reason, knowing the composition of this gas gives us information which is vital for understanding the chemical evolution of our Galaxy, and by extension, of the universe. Contribut...