NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST Ring Nebula Team photo; image processing by Roger Wesson
- The James Webb Space Telescope continues to impress with stunning images of the universe.
- The latest image shows a doughnut-shaped structure of glowing gas known as the Ring Nebula.
- The image peers through the nebula's gas to reveal secrets about the life and death of stars.
The stunning death throes of a star 2,600 light years away have been captured in unprecedented detail by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The image shows a doughnut-like structure of glowing gas known as the Ring Nebula, which was formed about 4,000 years ago when a star violently shed its outer layer of gas and dust.
This matter spread out around the star, forming the granular purple matter seen in the image above.
The dying star that created the burst of matter is still visible at the center of the nebula. It is now extremely hot, over 100,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The interior of the ring is filled with hot gas, as shown in the image in yellow.
The image could help scientists learn more about the life cycle of distant stars.
You can see the image in more detail below:
The Ring Nebula is a favorite among amateur astronomers. Located 2,600 light years from Earth, its bubble-like shape can be seen using a backyard telescope pointing at the Lyra constellation.
"I first saw the Ring Nebula as a kid through just a small telescope," said astrophysicist Jan Cami of the University of Western Ontario, Canada, a member of the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) Ring Nebula Imaging Project, in a press release.
"I would never have thought that one day, I would be part of the team that would use the most powerful space telescope ever built, to look at this object," he said.
This latest Ring Nebula picture isn't just "aesthetically pleasing," said co-lead scientist Nick Cox of space observation firm ACRI-ST, France.
"By studying the Ring Nebula with JWST, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the life cycles of stars and the elements they release into the cosmos," he said.
The telescope's advanced infrared capabilities allow scientists to peer through gas like never before. This new picture is no exception; it reveals the secrets of the star at the center of the explosion.
"The high-resolution images not only showcase the intricate details of the nebula's expanding shell but also reveal the inner region around the central white dwarf in exquisite clarity," said Mike Barlow, University College London professor and co-lead scientist of the JWST Ring Nebula Imaging Project.
"We are witnessing the final chapters of a star's life, a preview of the sun's distant future so to speak, and JWST's observations have opened a new window into understanding these awe-inspiring cosmic events," he added.
This isn't the first time JWST has shared breathtaking images of a distant nebula.
As part of the space telescope's first series of images, scientists released stunning new photos of the Southern Ring Nebula, in July 2022.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
The telescope showed the structure was created by two stars, one of which had been hiding behind the dense cloud of hot gas until JWST exposed it.