Helix Nebula

This photograph of the Helix Nebula was taken by the NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. The Helix Nebula is called the “Eye of God,” on which the “Eye of Sauron” in the movie “The Lord of the Rings” was modeled. In the middle of the red pupil is a white dwarf star surrounded by the red gases emitted from the dying star. The blue and green part is the outer gases expelled into space. The outer red part falls away from the core white dwarf star, which is cooling off to die.