We're loving this image of the Dolphin Head Nebula (Sharpless 308) in the constellation Canis Major. It was taken by Yovin Yahathugoda and was shortlisted in the 2021 Astronomy Photographer of the Year by the Royal Observatory.
From Science Focus:
This is an image of the Dolphin Head Nebula, also designated as Sharpless 308, located at the centre of the constellation Canis Major. The star at the centre of this image is dying. The star’s gravity became too weak to hold onto its outer layers, and so they were blown away by stellar winds generated by nuclear reactions deep within. The star’s surface material is blown out into space, creating this nebula, a giant cloud of gas and dust. Eventually, the star will go supernova and die. The photographer struggled to capture this nebula for over a month due to poor conditions and was thrilled to get just 1.5 hours of total exposure time spread over 3 nights. The raw data was acquired using the Telescope Live remote telescope in Chile.
Image: Yovin Yahathugoda