So planetary nebulae really may owe their existence to planets!

所以行星状星云的存在可能真的要归功于行星！

That's a very common shape for planetary nebulae.

这是行星状星云很常见的形状。

This object is what we call a planetary nebula.

这个物体就是我们所说的行星状星云。

The glow in a planetary nebula is due to the hot central white dwarf exciting the gas.

行星状星云中的光芒是由中央炽热的白矮星激发气体产生的。

That usually happens when a gas cloud is expanding, like in a planetary nebula or supernova.

这通常发生在气体云膨胀时，比如行星状星云或超新星。

Will it, one day in the distant future be at the center of a planetary nebula it expels as it dies?

在遥远的未来的某一天，它会在死亡时被驱逐到行星状星云的中心吗？

Mind you, the gas in a planetary nebula is still expanding, cruising outward from its initial momentum of being thrown off the star.

请注意，行星状星云中的气体仍在膨胀，从最初被抛出恒星时的动量向外弥漫。

But these aren't just pretty pictures: the structure, color, and shape of a planetary nebula tells us about the life of the star that formed it.

行星状星云的结构、颜色和形状告诉了我们形成它的恒星的生命。

They also can form planetary nebulae: huge, intricately detailed objects created when the wind blown from the dying stars is lit up by the central white dwarf.

当从垂死的恒星吹来的风被中央的白矮星照亮时，形成的巨大而复杂的星云。

That takes a few thousand years, so when you see a planetary nebula you're seeing a very short snapshot of the life, the death, of a star.

这需要几千年的时间，所以当你看到行星状星云时，你看到的是恒星生命和死亡的非常短的快照。

What you're looking at is thousands of light years away, it's a planetary nebula, a giant cloud of gas that forms around an ancient star that hasn't yet exploded.

你正在看的是数千光年以外的一团行星状星云，是在尚未爆炸的古老恒星周围形成的巨大气体云。

When a medium-sized star dies, it blows off winds of gas, then lights them up as the white dwarf core of the star is revealed, creating a planetary nebula.

当一颗中等大小的恒星死亡时，它会吹出气体风，当恒星的白矮星核心显露出来时，气体风就会变得明亮起来，形成行星状星云。

They form what are called planetary nebulae, and these are so amazing and beautiful that they rate their own episode, which, along with more fun stuff about white dwarfs, we'll get to next time.

它们会形成行星状星云，这些星云是如此的神奇和美丽，因此值得拥有属于自己的专题，还有更多关于白矮星的有趣的东西，我们下次会讲到。