Many stars shine. Some explode. And, in very rare cases, a star can HALF-explode. The nebula Pa 30 is the result of a half-exploded star. Its zombie corpse keeps energizing it, creating a firework shape that closely resembles a high-altitude nuclear explosion (right). https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.03140 #space #science #nature

The star that created Pa 30 blazed like the Sun for billions of years. It collided with a companion star. It exploded & was partly destroyed. But it persisted, creating a beautiful, glowing cosmic dandelion (modeled here). Let this star be an inspiration to us all. https://keckobservatory.org/dandelion-supernova/ #space #science #nature