NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals stunning details of planetary nebula NGC 6072
Shreeaa Rathi | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Aug 04, 2025, 21:16 IST
( Image credit : etimes.in )
The James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled stunning images of the planetary nebula NGC 6072, showcasing the intricate outflows produced by a star nearing its end. This nebula's strikingly asymmetrical form has piqued the interest of astronomers, suggesting a fascinating interplay of forces as the star releases its outer layers.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured new high-resolution images of planetary nebula NGC 6072, revealing a complex scene of multiple outflows expanding from a dying star at the center. The images, taken in near- and mid-infrared, show an unusual, asymmetrical appearance hinting at complicated mechanisms as the star expels shells of material, losing up to 80 percent of its mass on July 30, 2025. Astronomers are using Webb to study planetary nebulae to learn about the life cycle of stars and their impact on surrounding environments.
Planetary nebulae, the expanding shells of glowing gas expelled by low-intermediate mass stars late in their lives, come in various shapes and sizes. While most appear circular, elliptical, or bi-polar, some, like NGC 6072, deviate from the norm.
Webb's observations of NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths reveal a scene that may appear messy. The unusual, asymmetrical appearance hints at more complicated mechanisms underway. The star central to the scene approaches the very final stages of its life and expels shells of material, losing up to 80 percent of its mass.
Astronomers are using Webb to study planetary nebulae to learn more about the full life cycle of stars and how they impact their surrounding environments.
The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image shows that this nebula is multi-polar. There are several different elliptical outflows jetting out either way from the center, one from 11 o’clock to 5 o’clock, another from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock, and possibly a third from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock.
The outflows may compress material as they go, resulting in a disk seen perpendicular to it. Astronomers suggest that there are likely at least two stars at the center of this scene. A companion star is interacting with an aging star that had already begun to shed some of its outer layers of gas and dust.
The central region of the planetary nebula glows from the hot stellar core, seen as a light blue hue in near-infrared light. The dark orange material, made up of gas and dust, follows pockets or open areas that appear dark blue. This clumpiness could be created when dense molecular clouds formed while being shielded from hot radiation from the central star.
There could also be a time element at play. Over thousands of years, inner fast winds could be ploughing through the halo cast off from the main star when it first started to lose mass.
The MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) highlights dust, revealing the star researchers suspect could be central to this scene. It appears as a small pinkish-whitish dot in this image.
Webb’s look in the mid-infrared wavelengths also reveals concentric rings expanding from the central region, the most obvious circling just past the edges of the lobes. This may be additional evidence of a secondary star at the center of the scene hidden from our view.
The secondary star, as it circles repeatedly around the original star, could have carved out rings of material in a bullseye pattern as the main star was expelling mass during an earlier stage of its life. The rings may also hint at some kind of pulsation that resulted in gas or dust being expelled uniformly in all directions separated by say, thousands of years.
The red areas in NIRCam and blue areas in MIRI both trace cool molecular gas (likely molecular hydrogen) while central regions trace hot ionized gas.
As the star at the center of a planetary nebula cools and fades, the nebula will gradually dissipate into the interstellar medium. It contributes enriched material that helps form new stars and planetary systems, now containing those heavier elements.
Webb’s imaging of NGC 6072 opens the door to studying how the planetary nebulae with more complex shapes contribute to this process.
"Since their discovery in the late 1700s, astronomers have learned that planetary nebulae, or the expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a low-intermediate mass star late in its life, can come in all shapes and sizes."
"Webb’s newest look at planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared shows what may appear as a very messy scene resembling splattered paint."
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Planetary nebulae, the expanding shells of glowing gas expelled by low-intermediate mass stars late in their lives, come in various shapes and sizes. While most appear circular, elliptical, or bi-polar, some, like NGC 6072, deviate from the norm.
Webb's observations of NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths reveal a scene that may appear messy. The unusual, asymmetrical appearance hints at more complicated mechanisms underway. The star central to the scene approaches the very final stages of its life and expels shells of material, losing up to 80 percent of its mass.
Astronomers are using Webb to study planetary nebulae to learn more about the full life cycle of stars and how they impact their surrounding environments.
The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) image shows that this nebula is multi-polar. There are several different elliptical outflows jetting out either way from the center, one from 11 o’clock to 5 o’clock, another from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock, and possibly a third from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock.
The outflows may compress material as they go, resulting in a disk seen perpendicular to it. Astronomers suggest that there are likely at least two stars at the center of this scene. A companion star is interacting with an aging star that had already begun to shed some of its outer layers of gas and dust.
The central region of the planetary nebula glows from the hot stellar core, seen as a light blue hue in near-infrared light. The dark orange material, made up of gas and dust, follows pockets or open areas that appear dark blue. This clumpiness could be created when dense molecular clouds formed while being shielded from hot radiation from the central star.
There could also be a time element at play. Over thousands of years, inner fast winds could be ploughing through the halo cast off from the main star when it first started to lose mass.
The MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) highlights dust, revealing the star researchers suspect could be central to this scene. It appears as a small pinkish-whitish dot in this image.
Webb’s look in the mid-infrared wavelengths also reveals concentric rings expanding from the central region, the most obvious circling just past the edges of the lobes. This may be additional evidence of a secondary star at the center of the scene hidden from our view.
The secondary star, as it circles repeatedly around the original star, could have carved out rings of material in a bullseye pattern as the main star was expelling mass during an earlier stage of its life. The rings may also hint at some kind of pulsation that resulted in gas or dust being expelled uniformly in all directions separated by say, thousands of years.
The red areas in NIRCam and blue areas in MIRI both trace cool molecular gas (likely molecular hydrogen) while central regions trace hot ionized gas.
As the star at the center of a planetary nebula cools and fades, the nebula will gradually dissipate into the interstellar medium. It contributes enriched material that helps form new stars and planetary systems, now containing those heavier elements.
Webb’s imaging of NGC 6072 opens the door to studying how the planetary nebulae with more complex shapes contribute to this process.
"Since their discovery in the late 1700s, astronomers have learned that planetary nebulae, or the expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a low-intermediate mass star late in its life, can come in all shapes and sizes."
"Webb’s newest look at planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near- and mid-infrared shows what may appear as a very messy scene resembling splattered paint."
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).