The Hubble Space Telescope has captured new images of Sunlike stars in the final stages of their lives as they blow off layers of gas and create new nebulae.

Astronomers released March 19 images of one such "planetary nebula", NGC 7027, showing the evolution of a Sunlike star in the final phases of its life. Astronomers combined images from Hubble's visible-light camera, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) and infrared images from Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Sepctrometer (NICMOS) to give the clearest view yet of the nebula.

The combined infrared and visible light images have allowed astronomers to see the transition between various layers of the nebula, from the white-hot gas surrounding the star through cooler layers of molecular hydrogen to outer, cooler regions of molecular gas and dust. Astronomers can clear see the effects of winds and radiation on the nebula.

Also released Thursday were images of several new planetary nebulae emerging from gas and dust which surrounded the star that created the nebula. Images show two shapes in these nebulae: an inner, elongated shape formed by stellar winds within an outer spherical shell.

Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets; their name comes from their planet-like appearance in early telescopes. These nebulae form as layers of gas are thrown off a Sunlike star as it enters a stage of expansion and contraction at the end of its life.