Webb’s Ring Nebula in Unprecedented Details
The Webb Space Telescope has taken a stunning new image of the Ring Nebula, which is 1 light-year wide. The results impressed astronomers.
Some 2,200 light-years away lies one of the finest examples of planetary nebulae known to scientists. Just a few thousand years ago, this object surrounding a dying star is 1 light-year across and is called the Ring Nebula. Thanks to a new image from the space telescope, astronomers have discovered many previously unknown details in the structure of this planetary nebula.
The Ring Nebula is one of the most visible objects in the sky. It was discovered in 1779 by astronomers Antoine Darquier de Pellpois and Charles Messier. Both astronomers stumbled upon the nebula while trying to follow the comet’s path through the constellation Lyra, passing very close to the Ring Nebula.
According to the authors of the study, the Webb telescope was able to reveal details of the complex structure of the Ring Nebula that scientists had not analyzed before. Astronomers have gained more information about the interior of the planetary nebula, as well as ten concentric arcs in the object’s outer regions.
