Some stars save the best for last.
The fainter star at the center of this scene has been sending out rings of gas and dust for thousands of years in all directions, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is covered in dust.
Two cameras on Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132 and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is about 2,500 light years away.
Webb will allow astronomers to dig into much more detail about planetary nebulae like this one—clouds of gas and dust ejected from dying stars. Understanding which molecules are present and where they are throughout the shell of gas and dust will help researchers improve their knowledge of these objects.
This observation shows the Southern Ring Nebula almost face-on, but if we could rotate it to view it from the edge, its three-dimensional shape would look more clearly like two cups placed together at the bottom, opening from each other with a large hole in the center.
Two stars, which are locked in a tight orbit, shape the local landscape. Webb’s infrared images reveal new details of this complex system. The stars—and their layers of light—are visible in the image from Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on the left, while the image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the right shows for the first time that the second star surrounded by dust. The brightest star is in an early stage of its stellar evolution and will likely eject its own planetary nebula in the future.
Meanwhile, the brighter star affects the appearance of the nebula. As the pair continue to orbit each other, they “stir the pot” of gas and dust, causing asymmetric patterns.
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Each shell represents an episode where the fainter star lost some of its mass. The wider shells of gas towards the outer regions of the image were ejected earlier. Those closest to the star are the most recent. Detecting these outbursts allows researchers to examine the history of the system.
Observations made with NIRCam also reveal extremely thin light rays around the planetary nebula. Starlight from the central stars flows in where there are holes in the gas and dust—like sunlight through gaps in a cloud.
Since planetary nebulae have existed for tens of thousands of years, observing the nebula is like watching a movie in super slow motion. Each star’s inflating shell enables researchers to precisely measure the gas and dust inside it.
As the star ejects shells of material, dust and particles form within them — changing the landscape even as the star continues to eject material. This dust will eventually enrich the regions around it, expanding into what is known as the interstellar medium. And because it is so long-lived, the dust can end up traveling through space for billions of years and become incorporated into a new star or planet.
In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissolve into the surrounding space.
Image: Hubble detects an interstellar interaction More info: webbtelescope.org/news/first-images
Reference: Webb records dying star’s final ‘show’ in detail (2022 July 12) Retrieved July 12, 2022 by
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title: “Webb Captures The Last Performance Of The Dying Star In Detail " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-15” author: “Heather Meadows”
07/12/2022 3833 views 38 likes
NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed details of the Southern Ring Nebula that were previously hidden from astronomers. Planetary nebulae are the shells of gas and dust ejected from dying stars. Webb’s powerful infrared view brings this nebula’s second star into full view, along with exquisite structures created as stars shape the gas and dust around them. New details like these, from the last stages of a star’s life, will help us better understand how stars evolve and transform their environment. These images also reveal a cache of distant galaxies in the background. Most of the colorful points of light seen here are galaxies – not stars. Southern Ring Nebula – MIRI Some stars save the best for last. The fainter star at the center of this scene has been sending rings of gas and dust in all directions for thousands of years, and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed for the first time that this star is covered in dust. Two cameras on Webb captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132 and known informally as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is about 2500 light years away. Webb will allow astronomers to dig into much more detail about planetary nebulae like this one—clouds of gas and dust ejected from dying stars. Understanding what molecules are present and where they are throughout the shell of gas and dust will help researchers improve their knowledge of these objects. This observation shows the Southern Ring Nebula almost face-on. If we could rotate it to view it lengthwise, its three-dimensional shape would look more like two bowls placed together at the bottom, opening from each other with a large hole in the center. Two stars, locked together in a tight orbit, shape the local landscape. Webb’s infrared images reveal new details of this complex system. The stars – and their layers of light – are visible in the image from Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam), while the image from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) shows for the first time that the second star is surrounded by dust. The brightest star is in an early stage of its evolution and will likely eject its own planetary nebula in the future. Southern Ring Nebula – NIRCam Meanwhile, the brighter star affects the appearance of the nebula. As the pair continue to orbit each other, they “stir the pot” of gas and dust, causing asymmetric patterns. Each shell represents an episode in which the fainter star lost some of its mass. The wider shells of gas towards the outer regions of the image were ejected earlier. Those closest to the star are the most recent. Detecting these outbursts allows researchers to examine the history of the system. Observations made with NIRCam also reveal extremely thin light rays around the planetary nebula. Starlight from the central stars streams out where there are holes in the gas and dust—like sunlight through gaps in a cloud. Since planetary nebulae have existed for tens of thousands of years, observing a nebula is like watching a movie in super slow motion. Each star’s inflating shell enables researchers to precisely measure the gas and dust inside it. As the star ejects shells of material, dust and particles form within them – changing the landscape even as the star continues to eject material. This dust will eventually enrich the regions around it, expanding into what is known as the interstellar medium. And because it is so long-lived, the dust can end up traveling through space for billions of years and become incorporated into a new star or planet. In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissolve into the surrounding space. About WebbWebb is the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space. As part of an international cooperation agreement, ESA provided the launch service for the telescope, using the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Working with partners, ESA was responsible for the development and certification of Ariane 5 adaptations for the Webb mission and for the procurement of the service launch by Arianespace. ESA also provided the NIRSpec spectrograph and 50% of the MIRI mid-infrared instrument, which was designed and built by a consortium of nationally funded European Institutes (The MIRI European Consortium) in collaboration with JPL and the University of Arizona. Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). For more information, please contact:ESA Media Relations: [email protected] Find more of Webb’s early images here. Like Thanks for the like You have already liked this page, you can only like once!
