M97

M97 — The Owl Nebula / La nébuleuse du Hibou M97, known as the Owl Nebula, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Ursa Major / Grande Ourse. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with planets: it is the expanding shell of gas ejected by a dying star near the end of its life. At its center remains a hot stellar core, slowly evolving into a white dwarf. Son surnom de nébuleuse du Hibou vient de ses deux zones plus sombres, qui rappellent les yeux d’un hibou dans le ciel profond. Capturing M97 is like observing a quiet stellar afterlife: a fragile bubble of ionized gas, suspended in space, revealing the final stages of a Sun-like star.