ESOcast 232 Light: Stars and Skulls

Captured in astounding detail by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), the eerie Skull Nebula is showcased in a new image in beautiful pink and red tones. This planetary nebula is the first known to be associated with a pair of closely bound stars orbited by a third outer star. This video offers stunning views of this object and tells the story of the three stars at its centre.

The video is available in 4K UHD.

The ESOcast Light is a series of short videos bringing you the wonders of the Universe in bite-sized pieces. The ESOcast Light episodes will not be replacing the standard, longer ESOcasts, but complement them with current astronomy news and images in ESO press releases.

Credit:

ESO

Directed by: Herbert Zodet.
Editing: Herbert Zodet.
Web and technical support: Gurvan Bazin and Raquel Yumi Shida.
Written by: Justin Tabbett, Emma Foxell, Stephanie Rowlands and Bárbara Ferreira.
Music: tonelabs (www.tonelabs.com) – Expect The Unexpected.
Footage and photos: ESO, C. Malin (christophmalin.com), Digitized Sky Survey 2/N. Risinger (skysurvey.org) and P. Horálek .
Scientific consultants: Paola Amico and Mariya Lyubenova.