Overview
- NASA, ESA and CSA released a high-resolution NIRCam image that provides the clearest near-infrared view yet of a portion of the Helix Nebula.
- The close-up resolves thousands of comet-like knots and layered shells along the inner rim of the expanding gas cloud.
- Fast, hot winds from the dying star slam into older, slower shells of dust and gas, sculpting the structure, while the powering white dwarf lies just outside the frame.
- Color mapping shows blue for the hottest ionized gas, yellow where hydrogen becomes molecular, and red at the coolest, dust-forming edges.
- Researchers will use these data to refine models of how sunlike stars shed material that later seeds new stars and planets, with further analysis and follow-up observations expected.