REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA—The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) owned by the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took this image. Nebula What an ‘amazing’ ring. The image reveals the intricate and ethereal beauty of Ring Nebula iconic in never-before-seen detail.
This mesmerizing object is about 2,600 light years from Earth and was born from the remains of a dying star. It is this star’s material expenditure that gives cosmic masterpieces a different structure and bright colors.
Just like fireworks, the various chemical elements in the nebula emit light of certain colors. This then produces objects that are incredibly beautiful and colorful, enabling astronomers to study the chemical evolution of these objects in detail.
Reported from Daily Mail, Monday (7/8/2023), the hope is that the new JWST images will provide experts with an unrivaled opportunity to study and understand the complex processes that form the Ring Nebula.
The Ring Nebula is located in the constellation Lyra. This object is popular with stargazers because even a small telescope will reveal the Ring Nebula’s ‘doughnut-like’ glowing gas structure. Because of the structure of the gas, it is named the Ring Nebula.
“We were amazed by the detail in the images, better than anything we had seen before. We’ve always known planetary nebulae to be beautiful. What we are seeing now is spectacular,” said Albert Zijlstra, professor of astrophysics at the University of Manchester.
Dr Mike Barlow, principal scientist of the JWST Ring Nebula Project, added: “JWST has given us an extraordinary view of the Ring Nebula that we have never seen before. According to him, the high-resolution images not only show the intricate details of the expanding nebula skeleton, but also reveal the inner region around the central white dwarf very clearly.
“We are witnessing the last chapter of a star’s life, previewing the Sun’s distant future, and JWST’s observations have opened a new window to understanding this amazing cosmic event,” said Barlow.
“We can use the Ring Nebula as our laboratory to study how planetary nebulae form and evolve.”
Additionally, the Ring Nebula is also known as Messier 57. What makes a planetary nebula like Messier 57 so captivating is the diversity of shapes and patterns. These often include ethereal and luminous rings, expanding bubbles or intricate wispy clouds.
These patterns are a consequence of a complex interaction of various physical processes that are not well understood.
Lead researcher Dr Nick Cox said the images had more than just aesthetic appeal; they provide many scientific insights into the evolutionary process of stars.
“By studying the Ring Nebula with JWST, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the life cycle of stars and the elements they release into the cosmos,” he said.
The images were released by an international team of astronomers led by Professor Barlow, Dr Cox and Professor Ziljstra.
2023-08-07 07:04:33
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