M57
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The
Ring Nebula
(also catalogued as
Messier
57
,
M57
and
NGC
6720
) is a
planetary nebula
in the northern
constellation
of
Lyra
.
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4
]
[C]
Such a
nebula
is formed when a star, during the last stages of its
evolution
before becoming a
white dwarf
, expels a vast luminous envelope of ionized gas into the surrounding
interstellar space
.