The planetary nebula M57 (NGC 6720), or the Ring Nebula as it is most commonly referred to for obvious reasons, lies about 1600 light years away from the Earth. The name "planetary nebula" given to this class of objects is due to the fact that many of them appear disc-like, similar to how the planets in our Solar System appear when viewed through a telescope. In reality, planetary nebulae are stars at the point of death.