News Astronomy

A new image captures enormous gas rings encircling an aging red star

The star is losing mass as it transforms into a white dwarf

radio image of three rings of gas around the star called V Hydrae

Three rings of ejected gas sail away from an aging star named V Hydrae, seen in this false-color radio image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile.

R. Sahai, P-S. Huang, S. Scibelli, M.R. Morris, K. Hinkle, C-F. Lee

By Ken Croswell

Huge rings of gas surround a large red star named V Hydrae, new images show, signaling its eventual transformation into a much smaller and bluer star.