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Credit: ESO

This image of the Dumbbell Nebula (right) has been obtained by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope on Mount Paranal in Chile.

The Dumbbell Nebula is located in the Vulpecula constellation, believed to be around 1,200 light years from Earth. It consists of very rarified gas that has been ejected from a hot central star, visible in the image, and which is now in one of the final stages of its evolution.

The nebula's gas atoms are heated by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the star, and emit radiation at specific wavelengths. Filters on the telescope allow the isolation of emissions from particular atoms and ions, shown in the intricate structure of the central part of the nebula.

The three-colour composite image was taken last month during the telescope's first commissioning phase, in which bright objects were recorded. The second phase will look at faint objects.