The Ant Nebula (Menzel 3, Mz 3)
Seen from Earth, the Menzel 3 nebula resembles the head and body of a common garden ant, hence its more popular name, the Ant Nebula.
However, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows 10 times more detail than Earth-based views and reveals the 'ant's body' as a pair of lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star.
The lobes display intriguing symmetrical patterns formed during the turbulent ejection of gas from the central star, unlike the chaotic patterns expected from an ordinary explosion.
