What is "protoplanetary nebula"

n. (context astronomy English) A stage in stellar evolution when a star starts to shed its outer layers before coming a true planetary nebula.

A protoplanetary nebula or preplanetary nebula (PPN) is an astronomical object which is at the short-lived episode during a star's rapid evolution between the late asymptotic giant branch (LAGB) phase and the subsequent planetary nebula (PN) phase. A PPN emits strongly in infrared radiation, and is a kind of reflection nebula. It is the second-from-the-last high-luminosity evolution phase in the life cycle of intermediate-mass stars (1–8 ).