James Webb Space Telescope Reveals The 'Eye' Of A Dying Star
The James Webb Space Telescope has done it again! In new images, JWST captured the Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 that is situated 2,600 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Lyra.
A nebula is a giant cloud of gas and dust, and this one represents the remains of a dying star. The image peeks into what may be called the eye of this nebula - showing a complex structure with mysterious stripes.
Capturing the eye of Ring Nebula
The telescope is helping scientists study the Ring Nebula as they try to make sense of these stripes and surrounding clumps of hydrogen. "These images hold more than just aesthetic appeal," said Nick Cox, one of the lead scientists on the project from the French space company ACRI-ST, in a statement. "They provide a wealth of scientific insights into the processes of stellar evolution."
Scientists hope to gain more insight into the life cycles of stars and the elements they release into the universe by studying the nebula. The new infrared Webb images are shown in false colours of violet and lime to make them more readable.
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We can see a central ring surrounded by a lighter halo. This ring is essentially a pit of gas and its central star is burning at extremely hot temperatures, about 99,982 degree Celsius.?Such structures are formed when a medium sized star dies, i.e., when it runs out of nuclear fuel. Giant stars that run out of fuel explode into a supernova, many becoming black holes.
Medium stars turn into a white dwarf made up of carbon and oxygen - unable to create light. This process began for the Ring Nebula about 4,000 years ago.
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Albert Zijlstra, Professor in Astrophysics at the University of Manchester, said, "We are amazed by the details in the images, better than we have ever seen before. We always knew planetary nebulae were pretty. What we see now is spectacular."
What do you think about this stunning image? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
