Despite their name, planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets. They are the remains of a dying star. When a star the size of our sun nears the end of its life, it ejects a shell of gas that glows brightly by the reflected light of the dying star. The shell expands rapidly, growing larger and fainter until it eventually becomes too faint to see. The first planetary nebula discovered was M57, the Ring Nebula. A telescope will reveal the ring that gives M57 its name, but the central star will remain hidden from view.