Overview
- NIRCam resolves pillar-like cometary knots tracing the inner rim of the expanding shell, delivering the clearest fine-structure view to date.
- Fast, hot winds from the central white dwarf collide with slower, colder shells of gas and dust, carving the nebula’s knots and tails.
- Color encodes physical conditions, with blue marking the hottest gas, yellow highlighting molecular hydrogen, and red tracing the coolest material and emerging dust.
- The image reveals shielded pockets where complex molecules form, confirming and localizing chemistry that Spitzer had only hinted at.
- Released by NASA with ESA, CSA, and STScI, the public zoom covers a portion of the Helix Nebula about 650 light-years away in Aquarius.