NGC 1514, The Crystal Ball Nebula, is a rare type of planetary nebula located in the constellation  Taurus approximately 800 light years⁽¹⁾ from the Earth.  The bright central star is actually a double star system⁽¹⁾ designated HD 281679⁽⁴⁾.  The system is comprised of a giant star that is somewhat heavier than our sun and an even heavier star that has collapsed into a white dwarf⁽²⁾.

Spectrum of this double star system indicates a highly eccentric binary⁽³⁾ with an orbital period of approximately 9 years⁽⁴⁾.  The significant effects of long-period binaries⁽⁵⁾ on the formation of planetary nebulae is not fully understood⁽³⁾.  In part, this is due to the rarity of such systems⁽³⁾.

Studies using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer telescope (WISE)² reveal structure not visible at optical wavelengths.  The WISE image shows rings, or lobes, of dust that have been heated by material expelled from the white dwarf star⁽²⁾⁽⁴⁾.  The WISE image may be viewed here.

The image above was captured using Ha (Hydrogen Alpha) and OIII (Doubly Ionized Oxygen) narrowband filters.  The image was assembled by mapping Ha to red and OIII to green and blue.  The stars were overlaid with RGB filtered data to give them a near true color appearance.