NASA's James Webb Space Telescope obtained images of the Ring Nebula, one of the best-known examples of a planetary nebula. Much like the Southern Ring Nebula, one of Webb's first images, the Ring Nebula displays intricate structures of the final stages of a dying star. Roger Wesson from Cardiff University tells us more about this phase of a sun-like star's stellar lifecycle and how Webb observations have given him and his colleagues valuable insights into the formation and evolution of these objects, hinting at a key role for binary companions.
"Planetary nebulae were once thought to be simple, round objects with a single dying star at the center. They were named for their fuzzy, planet-like appearance through small telescopes. Only a few thousand years ago, that star was still a red giant that was shedding most of its mass."
"As a last farewell, the hot core now ionizes, or heats up, this expelled gas, and the nebula responds with colorful emission of light. Modern observations, though, show that most planetary nebulae display breathtaking complexity. It begs the question: how does a spherical star create such intricate and delicate non-spherical structures?"
"The Ring Nebula is an ideal target to unravel some of the mysteries of planetary nebulae. It is nearby, approximately 2,200 light-years away, and bright—visible with binoculars on a clear summer evening from the northern hemisphere and much of the southern. Our team, named the ESSENcE team, is an international group of experts on planetary nebulae and related objects."
"We realized that Webb observations would provide us with invaluable insights, since the Ring Nebula fits nicely in the field of view of Webb's NIRCam and MIRI instruments, allowing us to study it in unprecedented spatial detail. Our proposal to observe it was accepted , and Webb captured images of the Ring Nebula just a few weeks after science operations started on July 12, 2022."
"When we first saw the images, we were stunned by the amount of detail in them. The bright ring that gives the
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Susie Webb | The Texas TribuneSusie Webb was a summer 2023 data visuals fellow based in Austin. During her fellowship, she was a senior at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying journalism, global studies and data science. She has worked as the data editor and city and state editor for The Daily Tar Heel, where she helped build the paper’s online multimedia presence. Previously, she was a metro news reporter for The C…
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