NGC 3132 Southern Ring Nebula, JWST(MIRI)
$65.00 Original price was: $65.00.$52.50Current price is: $52.50.
Southern Ring Nebula, JWST, NGC 3132
The southern ring nebula NGC 3132 is a planetary nebula located in the southern constellation Vela some 40 degrees south of the celestial equator and 2500 light years distant. Planetary nebulas are created by stars of the size of our Sun as they die and cast off material. Webb’s infrared images allow new details in this complex system to be explored. This image was captured in three infrared wavelengths using the mid infrared camera(MIRI) In this deeper infrared image the dying star can be seen next to the the bright star that was prominent in the NIRCAM image. https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ngc-3132-southern-ring-nebula-jwst/ Each shell represents an episode where the fainter star lost some of its mass. The widest shells of gas toward the outer areas of the image were ejected earlier. Those closest to the star are the most recent. There are fewer shells visible in this image than in the NIRCAM image. Eventually all of the material from the star will be ejected into interstellar space and over billions of years may form another star. In the meantime, the brighter star influences the nebula’s appearance. As the pair continues to orbit one another, they “stir the pot” of gas and dust, causing asymmetrical patterns.
This image was made by Michael Adler using the data from the Webb telescope. The data consisted of B&W images taken through three filters ranging from 18000nm to 7700nm. All three of these filters are wide band capturing a broad range of light with the red color coming from the 18000nm filter, green from the 12800nm and blue from the 7700nm filters. This image has considerably more detail than an older image done by the Hubble telescope. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1998/39/729-Image.htm
This image can also be compared with the northern ring nebula done by Michael Adler at his observatory in Jackson WY. https://earthandskyimaging.com/product/ring-nebula-messier-57-narrowband/ One can see a similiar set of distinct layers of material that ere ejected.
