Lion Nebula roars into view as telescope captures dying star in breathtaking new detail
While exploring deep space using NASA’s James Webb Telescope, experts were able to capture stunning new images of NGC 2392, otherwise known as the Lion Nebula.
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THE TAKEAWAY
- NASA's James Webb Telescope captures new images of the Lion Nebula.
- Scientists expect the nebula to disperse in about 10,000 years.
- Within the "mane" of the nebula are hazy comet-shaped objects.
Space lovers and skywatchers alike can rejoice in more celestial news as experts at NASA share astonishing images of the Lion Nebula roaring with life.
While exploring deep space using NASA’s James Webb Telescope, experts were able to capture stunning new images of NGC 2392, otherwise known as the Lion Nebula.
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William Herschel first discovered it in 1787, and it began forming about 10,000 years ago, when the dying star began throwing material into space.
A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope imaged the planetary nebula NGC 2392, the Lion Nebula. (NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI))
According to NASA, some nebulae come from the gas and dust thrown out by the explosion of dying stars, such as a supernova.
Images shared by NASA show the nebula dazzling in deep space, exuding purple, blue, pink and white colors from the outer layer of the lion-face-shaped figure.
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Within the "mane" of the nebula are hazy comet-shaped objects.
Massive stars undergo supernova explosions at the end of their lives.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s mid-infrared image of planetary nebula NGC 2392.
"When a lower-mass star can no longer sustain itself with nuclear reactions in its core, the star becomes unstable and pulsates, losing its mass by shedding its outer layers, which then turn into shells of gas and dust called a planetary nebula," NASA said.
Once the star's radiation drives the ejected material away, it leaves behind a very hot core known as the white dwarf in the center of the phenomenon.
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As the dying star sheds its outer layers, the nebula forms a bubble of ionized gas that creates the lion's face and expands over time, producing the picturesque image.
Less clear view of the Lion Nebula from the Hubble Space Telescope. (@NASAHubble / X)
Scientists expect the nebula to disperse in about 10,000 years, which is a relatively short period in astronomical terms.
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The closest nebula to Earth is the Helix Nebula, located about 700 light-years away.