Stars all eventually run out of hydrogen for fusion. A star's mass determines its fate. A star with the sun's mass (or a bit more, according to some researchers) will first become a red giant, then shed the outer layers into space to create a beautiful grave marker, as it were: a planetary nebula. Eventually only the core remains as a slowly cooling white dwarf.
Compare the above image with the APOD HST image of the central region.
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