Chile telescope captures picture of a cosmic butterfly

The National Science Foundation's NoirLab released the picture on Wednesday. 

Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2500 to 3800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. 

The discarded gas forms the butterfly-like wings billowing from the aging star, whose heat causes the gas to glow. 

Schoolchildren in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate 25 years of operation by the International Gemini Observatory.

Australian Associated Press