NASA announced on Monday that new images from the James Webb Space Telescope have provided intricate details of the final stages of a dying star. The images of the Ring Nebula showcase a glowing halo and vibrant colors, and have also led to a surprising discovery, according to an astronomer involved in the review of the observations.
The space agency revealed that Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument captured the clearest view yet of the faint molecular halo surrounding the dying star. The images showed up to 10 concentric “arcs” in the halo, which scientists believe formed approximately every 280 years as the central star shed its outer layers. Roger Wesson, a research associate at Cardiff University, who reviewed the observations, described the discovery of the arcs as a “surprising revelation.”
Wesson further explained that the presence of the arcs suggests the existence of a companion star in the system, orbiting at a distance similar to Pluto’s orbit around the Sun. As the dying star expelled its atmosphere, the companion star influenced the outflow and helped shape it. Previous telescopes lacked the sensitivity and spatial resolution to uncover this subtle effect, making the Webb telescope’s observations significant.
It’s worth noting that these are not the first images of the Ring Nebula. The Hubble telescope had previously captured images of it in 2013. However, the detailed images from Webb revealed intriguing “spikes” in the nebula that were only faintly visible in the Hubble images.
“When we first saw the images, we were amazed by the level of detail captured,” Wesson commented. He revealed that the bright ring that gives the nebula its name is composed of about 20,000 individual clumps of dense molecular hydrogen gas, each weighing approximately as much as the Earth.
The Ring Nebula is considered an excellent subject for scientific study as it can provide insights into planetary nebulae, which are regions of cosmic gas and dust formed from the outer layers of dying stars. The first planetary nebula ever discovered dates back to 1764, and they were initially thought to be simple, spherical objects with a dying star at their core. However, modern observations have revealed their complexity, raising questions about how a spherical star can create such intricate non-spherical structures.
The Ring Nebula was first spotted by French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in 1779. It is located about 2,000 light-years away in the Lyra constellation and can be observed using a moderately-sized telescope.
Aliza Chasan, a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBS News, authored this article.
(Source: CBS News)
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