Feast your eyes on this cosmic Compass constituent! The planetary nebula NGC 2818 is located in the southern constellation Pyxis, the Compass. Planetary nebulae contain clouds of dust and gas formed from the outer layers of a star cast off during its death. Over tens of thousands of years, planetary nebulae gradually fade, while the hot, remnant stellar core cools off, becoming a white dwarf. Scientists theorize that a similar fate will befall our Sun in about 5 billion years, when it runs out o