Hubble celebrated its 34th birthday yesterday, and during its decades-long mission it has discovered many strange sights in our universe - like this stunning image of the Hourglass Nebula.

This eerie and iconic ‘eye’ was captured by Hubble in 1996. In fact, this image shows the glowing remains of a dying Sun-like star.

The Hourglass Nebula is located about 8,000 light-years away. This image is a composite of three separate images taken in the light of ionised nitrogen (red), hydrogen (green) and double ionised oxygen (blue). This data has helped astronomers better understand how a star ejects matter as it dies.

Image description:

Rings of glowing orange gas surround a central point that resembles a green eye against black space.