In today's image, we see the Egg Nebula. This is a sunlike star near the end of its life in what is called the pre-planetary nebula phase. The core (hidden by dust) is compacting down to a white dwarf star while the outer layers are being expelled out into space.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

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