James Webb observes a dying star creating a cosmic hourglass
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has taken the most detailed image of planetary nebula NGC 1514 to date thanks to its unique mid-infrared observations. Webb shows its rings as “fuzzy,” intricate clumps of dust. It’s also easier to see holes punched through the bright pink central region.
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)
This strange image may look like a cell dividing, or perhaps even a brain, but it’s neither of those things — it’s actually a space nebula, located 1,500 light-years away. Known affectionately as the Crystal Ball Nebula or more technically as NGC 1514, the striking structure of this object was created by the drama of a dying star.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured this image, showing the nebula in more detail than ever before. The object was previously observed using a NASA telescope called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in 2010 by researcher Mike Ressler of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he had the opportunity to go back and look at the object again using the cutting-edge powers of Webb’s MIRI instrument (Mid-Infrared Instrument). That showed up a set of fuzzy rings that were only visible in the infrared and some voids closer to the center of the object.
“Before Webb, we weren’t able to detect most of this material, let alone observe it so clearly,” said Ressler. “With MIRI’s data, we can now comprehensively examine the turbulent nature of this nebula.”
The nebula has this unusual shape because it was created by a pair of stars that lie at its heart. One of this pair came to the end of its fuel and puffed up, then threw off layers of dust and gas, leaving only a hot core called a white dwarf. This dwarf gives off weak but fast gusts of material called stellar winds, which shape the material around it. Researchers think that the material is being driven into an hourglass shape due to the presence of the other half of the pair, which has created the two bright rings.
“When this star was at its peak of losing material, the companion could have gotten very, very close,” said David Jones of the Institute of Astrophysics on the Canary Islands, who has also studied this system. “That interaction can lead to shapes that you wouldn’t expect. Instead of producing a sphere, this interaction might have formed these rings.”
With Webb’s observations, you can see that the rings aren’t solid. Rather, they are fuzzy and thicker in some places than others. “We think the rings are primarily made up of very small dust grains,” Ressler said. “When those grains are hit by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star, they heat up ever so slightly, which we think makes them just warm enough to be detected by Webb in mid-infrared light.”
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
Gorgeous James Webb Space Telescope images land on new U.S. stamps
In a mark of its huge impact on the world of science and astronomy, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope finds itself once again as the inspiration for a new set of stamps from the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Two new stamps issued this month feature iconic images captured by Webb, one of them showing a spiral galaxy called NGC 628. “Webb’s observations combine near- and mid-infrared light to reveal glowing gas and dust in stark shades of orange and red, as well as finer spiral shapes with the appearance of jagged edges,” NASA said of the image (below), adding that the galaxy is located 32 million light-years away in the Pisces constellation.
James Webb spots ancient Spiderweb cluster that’s 10 billion years old
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The light from the Spiderweb has been traveling for an astonishing 10 billion years to reach us, so looking at it is like looking back in time to the early stages of the universe. Astronomers are interested in studying this cluster of over 100 galaxies interacting together because it shows how galaxies clumped together to form groups when the universe was still young.
Webb and Hubble snap the same object for two views of one galaxy
With all the excitement over the last few years for the shiny and new James Webb Space Telescope, it’s easy to forget about the grand old master of the space telescopes, Hubble. But although Webb is a successor to Hubble in some ways, with newer technology and the ability to see the universe in even greater detail, it isn’t a replacement. A pair of new images shows why: with the same galaxy captured by both Webb and Hubble, you can see the different details picked out by each telescope and why having both of them together is such a great boon for scientists.
The galaxy NGC 2090 was imaged by Webb, shown above, using its MIRI and NIRCam instruments. These instruments operate in the mid-infrared and near-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum respectively, which is why the arms of this galaxy appear to be glowing red. These arms are made of swirling gas and dust, and within them are compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that glow brightly in the infrared. The blue color in the center of the galaxy shows a region of young stars burning hot and bright.
