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Dying carbon star NASA’s Hubble space telescope captured this recent image of a dying star named CW Leonis. The red giant star, only 400 light-years from Earth, is collapsing on itself after running out of hydrogen in its core. Because the star was originally very massive, the pressure in its core is enough to fuse helium into carbon, which it then ejects into surrounding space. This carbon creates the distinct orange color surrounding the star, and provides material that could someday form planets. ESA/Hubble, NASA, Toshiya Ueta (University of Denver), Hyosun Kim (KASI)