The Snow Globe Nebula (NGC 6781) is a unique planetary nebula lying 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Aquila. The object gets its name because the interior of the ring is partially transparent, allowing points of starlight to come through, appearing like snowflakes suspended in a snow globe.
In addition to being a great deep-sky object, it’s also a preview of what our own solar system will one day be: Planetary nebulae are formed when stars like the Sun reach the end of their lives and become unstable, shaking off their outer layers of gas on their way to becoming a white dwarf.
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