• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
James Webb Space Telescope captures what a star looks like when it's dying

Home> Technology

Updated 15:56 15 Mar 2023 GMTPublished 14:28 15 Mar 2023 GMT

James Webb Space Telescope captures what a star looks like when it's dying

NASA have captured a supernova taking place 15,000 light-years from Earth

Ella Scott

Ella Scott

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured rare footage of what a star on the cusp of death looks like.

The observation was revealed via NASA on Tuesday (14 March) at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.

JWST was only launched in late 2021, which means that the dying star image is one of the first stunning phenomena to be captured perfectly.

Using its infrared lens, the telescope recorded an image of gas and dust being flung into space by the huge dying star, Wolf-Rayet (WR) 124.

Advert

It’s thought that this spectacle is taking place 15,000 light-years away from Earth.

That’s roughly 5.8 trillion miles away, in case you were wondering.

Wolf-Rayet 124 casting off material.
NASA

The image was exclusively shared by NASA and sees a shimmering purple cast-off material that once comprised the burning star’s outer layer, creating 'halos of dust and gas'.

Advert

The dramatic image is a step up from the one originally taken by The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) a couple of years ago.

Before the JWST was launched, HST captured this transitioning star in 2015.

However, due to not having the technology to correctly capture delicate details - it appeared more like a flaming ball.

This image of a star's dying moment was taken by The Hubble Telescope in 2015.
NASA

Advert

But now the destruction of Wolf-Rayet 124 can be seen in all its glory.

The exploding star sits in the constellation Sagittarius and it is thought to be 30 times larger than our own sun. And, according to NASA, it has already shed enough gas and dust to account for 10 suns - for now, at least.

Speaking about the JWST image, NASA Astrophysicist Amber Straughn said: “What we’re seeing in this beautiful new image at the very centre is a star."

“The light from that star has been travelling through space for about 15,000 years,” she continued. “It’s 15,000 light years away until it hit the detectors on the telescope.”

Advert

Straughn also explained what the explosion is you can see in the image, saying: “The material that you’re seeing around the central star that looks like dust, is dust.

“And, so, at the end of the star’s life, they shed their outer material, their outer layers out into the rest of the universe.”

“[In the image] that dust is spreading out into the cosmos and will eventually create planets. And this is how we got here, in fact,” Straughn concluded.

According to scientists, a star that is shedding material is in the final steps of exploding, which is also called going supernova.

Advert

But while the demise of Wolf-Rayet 124 cannot be seen by the naked eye, five planets will be available to see from Earth in March.

If you’re also interested in the destruction of space, NASA has shared an illustration of what galaxies look like when they collide.

Featured Image Credit: NASA

Topics: NASA, Space, Science

Ella Scott
Ella Scott

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
2 days ago
4 days ago
  • 9 hours ago

    Everyone's saying the same thing after clip of Elon Musk resurfaces claiming we're 'summoning the demon' with AI

    Musk has since developed robots, self-driving cars and an AI platform integrated into X

    Technology
  • 2 days ago

    Important reason why you should blur your house on Google Maps

    One Redditor claimed they'd taken the plunge after a 'number of break-ins and incidents'

    Technology
  • 4 days ago

    Expert gives step-by-step on how to survive the first 24 hours of a nuclear bomb attack amid WW3 fears

    Searches for 'WW3' have spiked amid the conflict between Israel, Iran and the US

    Technology
  • 4 days ago

    Expert shares stark warning to the US after Iran-linked hackers carried out Truth Social cyberattack

    Hackers aligned with Iran claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the Trump-founded social media channel

    Technology
  • James Webb Space Telescope may have figured out how $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 asteroid was created
  • NASA telescope made terrifying planet discovery where it rains glass at 4,300 miles per hour
  • NASA has created a more powerful James Webb Space Telescope for $488,000,000 to find answers from the beginning of time
  • Experts reveal what the International Space Station smells like and it's not what you'd expect