Cosmic Rose

3 billion Suns can Fit inside this STAR

3 billion Suns can Fit inside this STAR ✩

Abell 24 is a faint planetary nebula located approximately 1,730 light-years away in the constellation Canis Minor. This delicate, "Valentine rose"-shaped cloud of gas was ejected by a dying star roughly 20,000 years ago.

Surrounded by a complex circumstellar envelope (CSE) formed from material expelled from the star’s surface, the artist was taken aback by its resemblance to a delicate flower in full bloom.

Cosmic Rose Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 x 11/16 in. (30.5 × 30.5 × 1.8 cm) $350.00

Massive Star VY Canis Major                                                       Image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope 

Despite the name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets.

The term was coined bythe German-born British astronomer William Herschel, who also famously discovered the ice giant Uranus.

In a time of low-resolution astronomy, these nebulous objects appeared to resemble giant planets swimming in a dark cosmos.

Cosmic Location: Canis Minor Constellation

Celestial Phenomenon: Abell 24

Collection: 88 Constellations