In today's image, we see the Dumbbell Nebula, also known as M27. This is an example of a planetary nebula which is the end state of a star much like our own Sun. The outer layers have been expelled out into space while the core collapses down to a white dwarf star - which the mass of a star, but the size of Earth!

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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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