NASA has released a stunning new image, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, of a huge star about to explode.
The James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory ever, documented a unique view of the Wolf-Rayet star, one of the brightest, largest and shortest-lived stars.
Thanks to its powerful infrared instruments, the telescope revealed unparalleled detail on the star “Wolf Rayet 124” (WR 124), located 15,000 light-years away.
The star is 30 times the mass of the sun and has so far emitted material equivalent to 10 “suns”.
Cosmic dust is formed when the ejected gas cools and travels away from the star. The James Webb telescope can document this as it shines in infrared light.
Astronomers are interested in the beginning of cosmic dust, because it can survive a “supernova” explosion and add to the overall “dust mass” of the universe.
A “supernova” is an astronomical event that occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star’s life, in which a massive starburst occurs.
Why is this image important?
- Dust is essential to how the universe works, as it shields young stars, collects to help form planets, and provides a surface for molecules to form and clump together, including those that make up the source of life on Earth.
- The question of how much dust is produced in environments such as Wolf-Rayet 124, and whether dust grains are large and plentiful enough to survive the supernova and contribute significantly to the total “dust mass” has yet to be explored.
- Simply put, it had not been explored by astronomers interested in cosmic dust before the James Webb telescope.