M2-9 is a typical butterfly shaped planetary nebula.

Our Sun dominates all life forms on Earth. But its own life will some day come to an end. Astronomers believe that the Sun will exhaust its fuel in 5 billion years. But it will not pass away silently. It will evolve into a cosmic butterfly - a spectacular planetary nebula in the starry sky.

In fact, 95% of stars will eventually evolve into planetary nebulae. The most intriguing thing about planetary nebulae is that they are colourful and appear in all kinds of shapes like bugs, rings or butterflies. Their different shapes may be interrelated as well.

This Hourglass Nebula is the closing phase of a Sun-like star's life as its outer layers are ejected.

Two stars can be seen in the center of this Southern Ring Nebula in the southern hemisphere. The dimmer star emits ultraviolet radiation to illuminate the nebula.

The new sky show "Butterflies in the Starry Sky" will present these beautiful planetary nebulae and their evolution. The show will introduce a revolutionary theory on planetary nebulae evolution proposed by a Chinese astronomer Professor Kwok Sun. This theory has become a standard model nowadays. Moreover, many magnificent deep sky objects will be introduced. The starry sky has more than stars. It has lots of gems waiting for us to uncover.

Today many astronomers believe that the various forms seen in planetary nebulae can be explained by one model that we see from different angles. If we sight down the axis of the flow, we see a round nebula like the Ring. Looking from "above", the bipolar flows are conspicuous, as with NGC 6302. Peering at an in-between angle produces an image much like that of  NGC 2346 in Monoceros.