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The Hubble has photographed a dying sun-like star that smells like rotten eggs

The Hubble has photographed a dying sun-like star that smells like rotten eggs
The Hubble has photographed a dying sun-like star that smells like rotten eggs The Hubble has photographed a dying sun-like star that smells like rotten eggs

The Hubble space telescope has captured an image of the Calabash nebula.

The image shows the relatively small star, which has a similar mass to our sun but is much older, going through the stages of star death.

Despite being a beautiful image, up close the sulphur-heavy nebula would smell strongly of rotten eggs.

There’s no risk of us catching a whiff though, as the dying star is 5,000 light-years away.Officially given the catchy title OH 231.8+04.2, the star is pictured turning from a red giant into a planetary nebula.The star’s outer layers of gas and dust can be seen spreading out into the surrounding area of outer space.

And it’s being spat out at incredible speeds – the yellow gas in the picture is moving at nearly a million kilometres an hour.This is a rare spot for astronomers, as this stage is relatively quick in space terms.It will take another thousand years before it becomes a fully-formed planetary nebula – the glowing, expanding shell of gas marking where a star used to be.