--- description: NASA and the European Space Agency's Hubble Telescope has captured a rare image that shows the spectacular death of a star. title: Hubble Telescope Captures Image of Dying 'Rotten Egg' Star image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb59ad67d84e5e727/6988b917097b90a9f99b8cc5/calabash-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NASA's Hubble Telescope Captures Rare Image of Dying 'Rotten Egg' Star by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2017 3:19 PM CUT  The Calabash Nebula, pictured here — which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 — is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. The Calabash Nebula, pictured here — which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 — is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun.ESA/Hubble/NASA by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2017 3:19 PM CUT [NASA](http://time.com/4626693/earth-moon-from-mars-nasa-image/ "undefined") and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope has captured a rare image that shows the spectacular death of a star. The dying star can be seen transforming from a red giant to a planetary nebula called the Calabash Nebula, technically known as 231.8+04.2, according to the [ESA.](https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/hubble-captures-brilliant-star-death-in-rotten-egg-nebula "undefined") During this transformation, the dying star blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space at a speed close to 621,371 miles per hour. The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula, the ESA reports, because it contains a lot of sulphur, which smells like rotten egg when it combines with other elements. Luckily, as the nebula resides over 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis, humans don’t need to worry about the stench. The star’s death occurs “within the blink of an eye — in astronomical terms,” according to the ESA, which explains why this kind of photo is hard to come by. Next, the star will evolve into a fully formed planetary nebula over the next thousand years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4662484/nasa-hubble-telescope-rotten-egg-star/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4662484/nasa-hubble-telescope-rotten-egg-star/"},"headline":"NASA's Hubble Telescope Captures Rare Image of Dying 'Rotten Egg' Star","datePublished":"2017-02-07T15:19:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:41:48.783Z","description":"The nebula contains a lot of sulphur","url":"https://time.com/4662484/nasa-hubble-telescope-rotten-egg-star/","keywords":["Space","NASA","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb59ad67d84e5e727/6988b917097b90a9f99b8cc5/calabash-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb59ad67d84e5e727/6988b917097b90a9f99b8cc5/calabash-nebula.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Calabash clash","caption":"The Calabash clash","creditText":"ESA/Hubble/NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4662484/nasa-hubble-telescope-rotten-egg-star/","name":"NASA's Hubble Telescope Captures Rare Image of Dying 'Rotten Egg' Star"}}]}] ```