a red and white object in the dark

Dying Star HD 44179, the "Red Rectangle," Sculpts Rungs of Gas and Dust Caption Astronomers may not have observed the fabled "Stairway to Heaven," but they have photographed something almost as intriguing: ladder-like structures surrounding a dying star. Credits NASA; ESA; Hans Van Winckel (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium); and Martin Cohen (University of California, Berkeley)