In an image captured by the Gemini North telescope located atop Mauna Kea volcano (Hawaii, USA), part of the Gemini International Observatory, the Crystal Ball Nebula – also known as NGC 1514 – appears as a beautiful sphere formed by layers of glowing gas.

The Crystal Ball Nebula looks like a luminous crystal ball in the middle of space.
Crystal Ball is a type of cosmic object known as a "planetary nebula," a long-standing misnomer of the brilliant, spherical clouds of gas and dust released from dying stars.
Therefore, just like other planetary nebulae, the stunning crystal ball captured by Gemini North actually possesses a deadly nature.
But the story of Crystal Ball is quite complex. According to the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab, the unit that operates Gemini North, the nebula involves two stars orbiting each other in nine-year cycles.
"Scientists believe that one of these stars, which once had a mass many times greater than our Sun, shed its outer layers during its death throes," the NOIRLab statement read.
As the progenitor star and its companion star orbit each other, they shape the expanding gas shell with strong, asymmetrical winds, creating the undulating layers we see today.
Besides being a wonderful reminder of the awe-inspiring beauty of celestial objects, the Crystal Ball Nebula also reminds us that looking into space is like looking back into the past.
The light from this nebula takes a full 1,500 years to reach Earth, meaning that this beautiful crystal ball has actually been "hanging" in the sky for 1,500 years, but its image is only now becoming visible to us.
So, in a way quite similar to the crystal balls of witches in fairy tales, this celestial crystal ball serves as a window into the cosmic past.
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