NGC 1514 is the final gasps of a sun-like star, expelling
its material back into space where it can be recycled into
other stars and planets. Here, the blue-green color that
dominates the nebula is from oxygen that the star created
in its interior over the course of billions of years.

Astronomers suspect that at the center of this nebula may in
fact be two stars, bound together by gravity and orbiting one
another. That complex gravitational dance may account for some
of the intricate structures seen in the interior of this nebula.

NGC 1514 is 800 light years from earth, and is located in the
constellation Taurus.

This image was published in "Sky & Telescope", July 2018, page 75.

Image data:
Telescope: 12.5" Hyperion
Camera: SBIG STXL 11002
Exposure: 15 hours through RGB, Hydrogen-alpha, and Oxygen-III filters