The Dumbbell Nebula is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to the Earth, less than 1,000 light years away. This expanding hollow sphere of gas, two light years in diameter, was ejected from the surface of a star's evolution lasts only about 100,000 years, a fraction of its total lifespan of several billion years. This infrared image has been coloured to indicate the light emitted by different elements: hydrogen is blue, sulphur green and helium red.