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Western University | Western researchers capture stunning images of Ring Nebula with James Webb Space Telescope

JWST/NIRcam composite image of the Ring Nebula. The image clearly shows the main ring, surrounded by a faint halo and with many delicate structures. The interior of the ring is filled with hot gas. The star which ejected all this material is visible at the very centre. It is extremely hot, with a temperature in excess of 100,000 degrees. The nebula was ejected only about 4000 years ago. Technical details: The image was obtained with JWST's NIRCam instrument on August 4, 2022. Images in three different filters were combined to create this composite image: F212N (blue); F300M (green); and F335M (red). (NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST Ring Nebula Team photo; image processing by Roger Wesson) The images, released today by team including Western Space astronomers, offer an unparalleled chance to understand nebulae. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has recorded stunning new images of the iconic Ring Nebula (Messier 57). The images, released today by an international team of astronomers, including Jan Cami, Els Peeters and Nicholas Clark from Western’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, showcase the nebula’s intricate and ethereal beauty in unprecedented detail, providing scientists and the public with a mesmerizing view of this celestial wonder. For many sky enthusiasts, the Ring Nebula (located in the constellation Lyra) is a well-known object visible all summer long. Even a small amateur telescope reveals the characteristic doughnut-like structure of glowing gas that gave the Ring Nebula its name. “I first saw the Ring Nebula as a kid through just a small telescope,” said Western astrophysicist Jan Cami, a core member of JWST Ring Nebula Imaging Project. “I would never have thought that one day, I would be part of the team that would use the most powerful space telescope ever built, to look at this object.” The Ring Nebula is popular among astronomers young and old, and Cami often targets the fan favourite with Western’s main refracting telescope (refractor) for visitors at the Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory during public events over the summer months. “Scientifically, I am very interested to learn how a star turns its gaseous envelope into this mixture of simple and complex molecules and dust grains, and these new observations will help us figure that out,” said Cami. Read more at Western University.