Perched in the northern constellation of Ursa Major is a cosmic owl emitting intense ultraviolet radiation.

Okay, real talk: it’s not an owl, it’s a planetary nebula. This phenomenon happens when a red giant star has burned through all its fuel and can no longer shine, puffing out a gorgeous cloud of colourful gas and dust as a final hurrah. In the case of the Owl Nebula, the cloud has taken the shape of an owl’s face, with two bright “eyes” and a “beak” shape, hence its name. Instead of feathers, the nebula holds 0.13 solar masses of matter including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and oxygen.

This dying-star spectacle is about 2,000 light-years away from us, but we still get to enjoy the show from the comfort of Earth through a telescope.