It looks like a gigantic soap bubble floating in space. This is Abell 39, a remarkably beautiful object that could help astronomers solve problems about the chemical composition of stars.

The object is an example of a planetary nebula, a shell of material puffed off by certain stars towards the end of their lives. The term planetary nebula is a misnomer; early astronomers mistakenly thought these objects to be planets.

The symmetry of Abell 39, one of the largest such spheres ever discovered, enables scientists to make an accurate estimate of how much material is actually absorbing and emitting light. This will allow its composition to be determined.

At present, there is a disagreement among astronomers about the exact chemical make-up of dying stars that produce these planetary nebulae. Abell 39 may help solve this problem.

"The truly spherical nature of this beautiful nebula helps us eliminate a common confusion concerning the actual three-dimensional geometry of most nebulae," said George Jacoby, director of the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-Noao Observatory.

Not so central star

The nebula is about five light-years across, and the thickness of the spherical shell is about a third of a light-year (a light-year is about 10 million, million km or six million, million miles).

Located deep in the constellation of Hercules, Abell 39 is about 7,000 light-years distant.