Star Death (Low Mass)

Figure 5 : Quiet death of a lightweight star. For twenty thousand years this dying star has been blowing away its outer layers in a steady wind, exposing the hot but dying core. The wind has now spread to 1000 times the size of the solar system, and is illuminated by the light from this remnant core. The region is called NGC 3132, and the photo credit is the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA/NASA).