NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed details of the Southern Ring Nebula that were previously hidden from astronomers.
There are stars who save the best for the end.
The dimmer star in the center of the nebula has been sending rings of gas and dust in all directions for thousands of years, and NASA’s James Web space telescope first revealed that this star is hidden by dust.
Two cameras mounted on the Web Space Telescope captured the latest image of this planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 3132 and unofficially known as the Southern Ring Nebula. The nebula is part of the Milky Way and is about 2,500 light-years away.
Webb will allow astronomers to get many more details about planetary nebulae like this – gas clouds and dust blown by dying stars. Understanding which molecules are in the nebula, and where they are in the gas and dust shells will help researchers hone their knowledge of these objects.
This observation of the web shows the nebula of the southern ring with its front facing us and, but if we could rotate it to see it from end to end, its three-dimensional shape would clearly look like two bowls close together at the bottom and open apart creating a large hole in the center.
Two stars, locked in a tight orbit between them, shape the local landscape in the nebula. Web infrared images include new details in this complex system. The stars – and their light layers – stand out in the image from the near infrared camera (NIRCam) of the web on the left, while the image from the middle infrared device (MIRI) of the web on the right shows for the first time That the other star Surrounded by dust. The brighter star is at an earlier stage of its stellar evolution and is likely to emit its planetary nebula in the future.
Meanwhile, the brighter star affects the appearance of the nebula. As the pair of stars continue to orbit each other, they “mix the pot” of gas and dust, causing asymmetrical patterns to form.
Each shell represents an episode in which the bright star has lost some of its mass. The widest shells of gas towards the outer regions of the image were emitted earlier. The closest to the star are the latter. Tracing these emissions allows researchers to examine the history of the system.
Observations taken using a NIRCam camera also reveal Delicate light rays Most around the planetary nebula. Starlight from the central stars is projected out where there are holes in gas and dust – like sunlight through gaps between the clouds.
Because planetary nebulae have existed for tens of thousands of years, watching nebulae is like watching a movie in extremely slow motion. Each shell that the star inflates gives researchers the ability to accurately measure the gas and dust inside it.
This dust will eventually enrich the areas around it, and will spread into what is known as the interstellar medium. And because it has a very long lifespan, dust may eventually move in space for billions of years, reaching star-forming regions and finding itself inside a new star or planet.
In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissipate into the surrounding space.
Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI
For information on the NASA website