Once the yellow star depletes its fuel, it collapses in on itself creating huge shells of gas — like the green ones that appear in the new photo. The IC 1295 nebula resides in "the shield ...

The aftermath of a white dwarf collision shows a never-before-seen type of star in a neon green nebula. Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET.

And the spider isn't really green; the photo was created using infrared data gathered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). [Gallery: Strange Nebula Shapes ...