BEAUTIFUL DEATH
Stars create the most artistic displays during the last stages of their life. Low-mass stars, like the Sun (or M2-9 in the image), eventually transform into white dwarfs by shedding their outer gaseous envelopes. The expelled gas often forms impressive displays, known as a planetary nebula.
Planetary nebula fade gradually over thousands of years, quite a short timescale compared to the entire lifetime of the host star.