... This colorful telescopic view towards the northern constellation Lyra reveals dim outer regions around M57, popularly known as the Ring Nebula. While modern astronomers still refer to M57 as a planetary nebula, at one light-year across M57 is not a planet but the gaseous shroud of a dying sun-like star. ... Mercury Transits the Sun . ... The outer gasses of the star expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a helix. International Space Station in Transit . ...