Overview

• Using MIRI’s mid-infrared integral-field spectra with ALMA and Hubble data, researchers pinpointed the central star and its warm dust cloud.
• The star’s surface temperature is about 220,000 K, ranking it among the hottest known central stars of a planetary nebula in the Milky Way.
• Webb mapped a dense torus rich in crystalline silicates such as quartz and unusually large, micron-scale grains that indicate long-term growth.
• Nearly 200 spectral lines reveal layered structures and opposing jets traced by iron and nickel streaming from the core.
• Emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was detected in specific regions, which the team interprets as possible in-situ PAH formation in an oxygen-rich nebula pending further tests.