The ring nebula captured by James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam is 2,500 light-years away and known as M57 and NHC6720. NIRCam's sensitivity captures new details of the structures within the celestial object.
JWST captured the sharpest view yet of a ring nebula in even more detail than the Southern Ring Nebula it first captured last year, according to NASA.displays beautiful colors and details once thought to be "simple, round objects with a single dying star at the center," according to Roger Wesson of Cardiff University.
Wesson is part of the Evolved Stars and their Nebulae in the JWST Era, or ESSENcE, team, an international group studying planetary nebulae., a ring nebula is an excellent example of a planetary nebula, which includes an expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a star late in its life. Our solar system's own Sun will create a planetary nebula when it begins dying but not anytime soon.
According to the Space Telescope Science Institute, the ring nebula captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera is 2,500 light-years away and known as M57 and NHC6720. NIRCam's sensitivity captures new details of the structures within the celestial object."When we first saw the images, we were stunned by the amount of detail in them," Wesson said.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula."A surprising revelation was the presence of up to ten regularly-spaced, concentric features within this faint halo. These arcs must have formed about every 280 years as the central star was shedding its outer layers," Wesson said.
As the team continues to study planetary nebulae, they could find more information about a possible binary companion star.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
James Webb Space Telescope makes 'surprising' discovery in halo of dying starNew images from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed intricate details of a dying star's final stages, NASA said.
Read more »
James Webb Space Telescope offers a mesmerizing look at the Ring Nebula (photos)Monisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times. Prior to becoming a writer, she was an immunology researcher at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in philosophy, physics and chemistry. She spends too much time playing online chess. Her favorite planet is Earth.
Read more »
Webb Space Telescope captures the Ring Nebula in mesmerizing detailThe James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) captured extraordinarily detailed images published today of the Ring Nebula.
Read more »
Webb Space Telescope Drops Two Spellbinding Shots of the Ring NebulaImages taken by the telescopes NIRCam and MIRI instruments show the gassy structure as never before.
Read more »
Webb Space Telescope gives captivating view of Ring NebulaWhat does it look like when a star dies?
Read more »
Webb Telescope captures detailed images of Ring NebulaDetailed images of the Ring Nebula captured by NASA's James Webb Telescope have been released.
Read more »