The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula formed from the collapse of a sunlike star, several times bigger than our own Sun, that released its mass into the surrounding space at the end of its lifetime. The core remnant of the star remains in a planet-sized white dwarf located in the centre of the nebula with a temperature of over 100,000K. This hot central star emits intense ultra-violet light that ionises the atoms in the surrounding gas, resulting in the beautiful elemental colours.

The star that formed the nebula is estimated to have collapsed around 4,000 years ago and is approximately expanding at a rate of 40km/s. Although it is currently 1 light year across, it is continuously expanding away from its centre at slightly different rates, with the outer ring travelling faster than the inner gas. At its current rate The Ring Nebula will dissipate and merge with the interstellar medium in roughly 10,000 years.

It is interesting to note in this image that there are a number of rings visible around the central white dwarf star. These rings correspond to the progression of the collapse of the star as its expansion released a shell of material into space, followed by a gravitational collapse, then another expansion and release of more material and so on.

The Ring Nebula is an important discovery as it offers a glimpse into what the fate of the Sun could be. However, bearing in mind that the Sun is several times smaller than the original Ring Nebula star, it would probably have a less extravagant conclusion.