NASA reveals new images; Webb gave us ring

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shared more stunning images from space. Now it shared the image of the Southern Ring Nebula, an enormous cloud of dust and gas 2,000 light-years away from Earth. 

Some stars go out with a bang. In these images of the Southern Ring planetary nebula, @NASAWebb shows a dying star cloaked by dust and layers of light. Explore this star's final performance at https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I #UnfoldTheUniverse. pic.twitter.com/dfzrpvrewQ

— NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2022

The two images shared are taken by two of Webb’s instruments: NIRCam <1> and MIRI <2> which have captured the views of the Southern Ring planetary nebula (aka NGC 3132) and its pair of stars.

These two stars put a new spin on “til death do us part.” The dimmer star, locked in orbit with the younger, brighter star, is dying — expelling gas and dust that Webb sees through in unprecedented detail. In fact, Webb reveals for the first time that the dying star is actually cloaked in dust.

The new imagery not only shows that dying star in greater detail but also revealed a second star, gravitationally bound to it, which was previously shrouded from view.

The stars – and their layers of light – steal more attention in the NIRCam image, while glowing dust plays the lead in the MIRI image. In thousands of years, these delicate, gaseous layers will dissipate into surrounding space.

The Southern Ring nebula is called a planetary nebula. Despite “planet” in the name, which comes from how these objects first appeared to astronomers observing them hundreds of years ago, these are shells of dust and gas shed by dying Sun-like stars. The new details from Webb will transform our understanding of how stars evolve and influence their environments.