Sometimes I write about photos of space because of the remarkable processes that created them. Sometimes I write about pictures of space because I want to literally wear that space on my body. I mean, this planetary nebula could basically just go straight into a ring, barring its immense size and the fact that it's made of ionized gas and a dying star.

Can I at least get it printed on a skirt, please?

Pictured above is NGC 6818, also known as the Little Gem Nebula, which is located 6,000 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius. It's not newly discovered, but it's given a major makeover in this new image, thanks to some new color filters. At half a light year across, it's huge compared to us -- but tiny for a nebula. Just days ago we gawked at the Southern Owl Nebula, which is eight times bigger than the little gem.

[Gaze upon the Medusa (Nebula) in unprecedented detail]

Need a refresher on planetary nebulae? They've got nothing to do with planets. They're so named for their round (ish) shapes.

When a star is at the tail-end of its time as a red giant, it throws its gases off into space, forming a loose sphere around the star's smaller, white giant self. The star's exposed core ionizes the gases, which gives them brilliant color. After just a few tens of thousands of years -- a blip in the star's lifespan, which lasts billions and billions -- the gases will have all oozed out into space, leaving the tiny white dwarf behind as it continues to die.

[This dying star looks like a beautiful cosmic butterfly]

That's the eventual fate of our own sun.