About 2,000 light-years from Earth, a hot white dwarf has created a celestial masterpiece. As it was dying, the star lost its outer layers and irradiated them with UV light, creating the beauty that is the Southern Ring Nebula. Now, we can see it in the highest resolution infrared ever thanks to the phenomenal powers of the JWST.
Waves of material that were released by the former red giant can be seen clearly and the white dwarf and its companion star are clearly visible shrouded in dust in mid-infrared, appearing red.
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Mid infrared image of the Southern Ring Nebula. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
Find out more about this and the other historic images released today here.
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