This is the 1,500-year-old light from a dying star – and it has a little surprise at its core

The Gemini North telescope has captured new images of the Crystal Ball Nebula, a cosmic cloud of gas being emitted by a dying star.

Officially named NGC 1514, the Crystal Ball reveals what happens when a star similar to our Sun begins to use up its fuel and cast off its outer shell into space.

The image was captured using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope, located on Maunakea in Hawai‘i.

More on planetary nebulae

Red Rectangle Nebula. Credit: NASA; ESA; Hans Van Winckel (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium); and Martin Cohen (University of California, Berkeley) — Credit: NASA; ESA; Hans Van Winckel (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium); and Martin Cohen (University of California, Berkeley)

Video showing the Crystal Ball Nebula, captured by the Gemini North Telescope. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/N. Bartmann. Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab). Music: Produced by Konstantino Polizois

The dying star is producing what astronomers refer to as a planetary nebula.

A planetary nebula has nothing to do with planets, but these objects are so-called because of their often round, puffed-out shape, which resembles a planetary body.

The Crystal Ball Nebula was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1790.

Now powerful, modern telescopes like Gemini North are giving astronomers a clear view of this planetary nebula and how it's changing over time.

It's about 1,500 lightyears from Earth, which means it has taken light from the nebula 1,500 years to reach us. In effect, we're looking back in time.

As the star casts its outer shell into space, radiation from the exposed inner core of the star energises the gas, producing temperatures up to around 15,000K (14,700°C or 26,500°F).

That's nearly three times as hot as the surface of the Sun.

Video zooming in on the Crystal Ball Nebula, captured by the Gemini North Telescope. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/N. Bartmann. Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab). Music: Produced by Konstantino Polizois

A surprise at the Crystal Ball's core

The reason the Crystal Ball nebula has a slightly asymmetrical shape is because at it's heart lies not just one, but two stars.

These two stars orbit each other over a period of about nine years. Scientists say that's the longest known orbital period for any binary star pair in a planetary nebula.

It's thought that one of the stars was once several times more massive than our Sun, but is expelling its outer layers as it ages.

And as these stars orbit one another, they're moulding the expanding shell of gas and forming the lumpy layers we see today.