Nasa honours Hubble Space Telescope with this remarkable image

Nasa released a remarkable image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, also called Messier 76 or M76 honouring the Hubble Space Telescope on the occasion of its 34th anniversary, the US space agency said in a news release.

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990.

The image shows a large glowing gas emitted by a giant supernova from 3,400 light-years, resembling a dumbbell, with potential evidence of a star eating up its companion before it entered into the last stage of its life cycle.

The celestial object is called a planetary nebula because of its round shape and look like the disks from which the planets came into being.

The current nebula was first identified by Pierre Méchain in 1780. Later on, astronomers continued to look in great detail.

It remains to be substantiated by researchers whether there was any possibility of stellar cannibalism in Dumbbell Nebula.

"The space telescope is the most scientifically productive space astrophysics mission in Nasa history," the Washington-based organisation said.

After the collapse, the giant star has turned into a dead material called an ultra-dense white dwarf star.

The temperature of the white dwarf star is calculated at 138,871 degrees Celsius, generating 24 times more heat than the Sun.

The white dwarf can be seen in the middle of the nebula in Hubble’s image.

Experts estimated that within 15,000 the nebula will disappear as it continues to spread at the speed of two million miles per hour, becoming dimmer.