Photo credit: www.nasa.gov

Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope Unveils Stunning Image of a Dying Star

On April 14, 2025, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope showcased a breathtaking view of the gas and dust expelled by a dying star located in the heart of NGC 1514. The mid-infrared observations revealed a collection of “fuzzy” clumps of material arranged in intricate patterns, alongside a series of distinct holes near the central stars that indicate where faster-moving material has broken through.

This remarkable celestial landscape has been evolving for over 4,000 years and will continue to transform for many more millennia. At the center of this spectacle are two stars that, in Webb’s detailed observations, appear as a single entity, accentuated by brilliant diffraction spikes. These stars are engaged in a tight, elongated orbit that spans approximately nine years, surrounded by an arc of dust depicted in a vibrant orange hue.

Among these stars, one has a fascinating history; it was once several times more massive than our Sun. According to David Jones, a senior scientist at the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands, this star has played a pivotal role in creating the nebula as we observe it. “As it evolved, it puffed up, throwing off layers of gas and dust in a gradual but dense stellar wind,” explained Jones, who confirmed the existence of this binary star system at its core back in 2017.

Discover more about planetary nebula NGC 1514.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Michael Ressler (NASA-JPL), Dave Jones (IAC)

Source
www.nasa.gov