Overview

• JWST’s MIRI, combined with ALMA data, resolved the dusty core of NGC 6302 and pinpointed its long-hidden central star at roughly 220,000 Kelvin.
• The nebula’s vertical, nearly edge-on torus contains crystalline silicates and relatively large grains about a millionth of a meter, indicating prolonged dust growth.
• Researchers cataloged nearly 200 spectral lines that map layered chemistry and found opposing jets traced by iron and nickel.
• Signals from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were identified in the oxygen-rich nebula and may represent the first such evidence there, with formation likely triggered by a wind-blown bubble.
• In a separate result, Webb and Hubble imaged IRAS 04302+2247 as a 65-billion-kilometer, edge-on protoplanetary disk in Taurus showing a dark central lane, reflective lobes and structures consistent with dust settling and possible planet carving.