NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured infrared images of a nebula called the “Exposed Cranium” (PMR 1), a cloud of gas and dust around an ageing star. Webb’s cameras reveal an inner “brain” region and an outer shell of gas in striking detail. Astronomers first spotted PMR 1 more than a decade ago with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and Webb’s new data provide much greater detail and resolution.
Webb’s Revealing View
According to NASA, the PMR 1 nebula exists in the southern constellation Vela at a distance of approximately 5000 light-years from Earth. The nebula appears to Webb’s near-infrared and mid-infrared images as a see-through skull which contains a luminous “brain” within. The telescope detects an external hydrogen gas bubble which surrounds an internal gas cloud that contains mixed gases. The dark lane divides the nebula into two hemispheres, while it probably marks the path of materials which a dying star has ejected. The scientists observed the nebula because its appearance resembles a human skull and they used the observations to investigate the star’s last explosive emissions.
A Star’s Final Breath
This is a planetary nebula, which occurs when a mid-sized star sheds its outer material. These nebulae have a very short lifespan of 20,000 years. The images taken by the Webb telescope record this brief moment in the life cycle of a star. The life of the central star, depending on its mass, will end in a supernova explosion if it is massive or in the formation of a white dwarf if it is like our sun. In either scenario, the Exposed Cranium Nebula provides a colourful look at the end of a star’s life.
