Closer look at a shedding star

An enhanced image of AG Carinae has recently been released by the Hubble Space Telescope, showing the shedding star in even more detail. This new perspective was made possible by Hubble observations in 2010 and 2014, as well as images captured by the telescope’s WFPC2 instrument in 1994. AG Carinae is a giant star on the edge of destruction, surrounded by an expanding nebula about five light years wide. AG Carinae is classified as a luminous blue variable, a fairly rare cosmic sight. These stars continuously lose mass during the final stages of their lives, only when enough mass has been lost will the star reach a stable state.