Advanced optics reveals sharp details of the planetary nebula M2-9, a result of gas outflows from a dying star.

Astronomers used the Altair adaptive optics system on the Gemini North telescope of the Gemini Observatory to build this view of the M2-9 nebula, which sits about 2,100 light-years from Earth.

Gemini North’s Altair adaptive optics system continuously changes the shape of a telescope’s mirror to filter out distortions caused by the Earth’s atmosphere. The technique allows ground-based telescopes to collect observations to rival those of space-based observatories, Gemini Observatory officials said.

The Gemini North Observatory is located atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea. The observatory’s Gemini South telescope sits atop Cerro Pachon high in the Andes mountains of Chile.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: Gemini Observatory/Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage.