Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2023

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2023 center. This end-of-life phase of red giant stars is relatively brief, and the celestial structures that form around them are rare, making the Toby Jug Nebula an excellent case study into stellar evolution. This image, captured by the Gemini South telescope, one half of the In- ternational Gemini Observatory, op- erated by NSF’s NOIRLab, showcases the Toby Jug Nebula’s magnificent, nearly symmetrical double-looped structure and glowing stellar heart. These features are unique to red gi- ants transitioning from aging stars to planetary nebulae and therefore offer astronomers valuable insight into the evolution of low- to inter- mediate-mass stars nearing the end of their lives as well as the cosmic structures they form. At the heart of the Toby Jug Nebula is its progenitor, the red-giant star HR3126. Red giants form when a star burns through its supply of hy- drogen in its core. Without the out- ward force of fusion, the star begins to contract. This raises the core tem- by NOIRLab − Charles Blue T he glowing nebula IC 2220, nicknamed the Toby Jug Neb- ula owing to its resemblance to an old English drinking vessel, is a rare astronomical find. This reflec- tion nebula, located about 1200 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Carina (the keel), is a double-lobed, or bipolar, cloud of gas and dust created and illumi- nated by the red-giant star at its Gemini South captures Toby Jug Nebula