It's easy to see why this object got its name, its radiating tentacles resembling the warming fur of an Eskimo's parka. The Eskimo nebula is, officially, a planetary nebula, misnamed because their blurry features looked like planets when astronomers first spotted them with crude telescopes.

The nebulae represent bubbles of gas and dust blown off old stars. Light from the central star illuminates the bubbles.

Villard likens them to snowflakes: "They are all stunningly beautiful and no two are alike."

"Of our many pictures of such opulent but fading stars, this one is especially riveting for the public because of its crispness and eerie radial symmetry," Villard said.

This picture was taken by Hubble in 2000. Recently, thanks in part to Hubble, astronomers have begun to understand what creates these remarkable spectacles.