'We were amazed': Scientists find hidden structure in nebula captured by James Webb telescope

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Submillimeter wavelength radio observations of the Southern Ring Nebula have identified that it's actually a double ring, shaped by the interactions of three stars.

The glorious, billowing Southern Ring Nebula is the cocoon of a dying star — and it has a secret. Scientists have found this nebula to exhibit a double-ring structure that evidences not one, but possibly three stars at its heart.

"JWST showed us the molecules of hydrogen and how they stack up in the sky, while the Submillimeter Array shows us the carbon monoxide that is colder that you can't see in the JWST image," said Kastner in a press statement. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over."When we started to turn the whole nebula around in 3D, we immediately saw it was really a ring, and then we were amazed to see there was another ring," said Kastner.

The two lobes of the Southern Ring have a narrow, or"pinched," waistline, like an hourglass, which is a common feature of planetary nebulas emanating from a binary star system in which one of the stars is reaching the end of its life. The binary companion is able to corral the material shed by the dying star so that it escapes along a polar, rather than equatorial, direction, forming the two lobes.

Planetary nebulas don't just signify stellar death. They also hold the promise of new life — literally, in a sense.

 

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