A star expelled most of its gas some 2500 years ago, generating the stunning Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132), which was picked as one of the first five image packages from NASA/ESA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
A team of roughly 70 astronomers from 66 institutions spanning Europe, North, South, and Central America, as well as Asia, utilized JWST photos to put together the star's chaotic end.
JWST Images Reveal Secrets of Southern Ring Nebula
An ultra-hot core white dwarf star shines brightly in the nebula's center, Phys.org reported. Joel Kastner of the Rochester Institute of Technology in the US explains that the star is small and hot but is surrounded by cold dust. They believe that these gas and dust scattered around have come from one star that was hurled in particular directions by the partner stars.
There are additional spiral structures radiating from the center. When a companion circles the primary star while losing mass, it creates these concentric arches. Another partner is seen in the photo but is further out.
The scientists discovered pairs of protuberances in a three-dimensional reconstruction of the data, which might occur when astronomical objects release materials in jet form. These are irregular and radiate in various directions, potentially indicating a triple-star interaction at the core.
The dusty disk around the central star, the distant partner that generated the arches, and the super far companion shown in the photograph all suggested the possibility of a close companion.
Researchers realized there had to be another star or two involved once we observed the jets, so we assume there are one or two extremely close companions, one in the medium distance, and one very far away. If this is the case, four or perhaps five things are implicated in this tragic death.
JWST Showed Multiple Stars Stirring Up the Southern Ring Nebula
Professor Orsola De Marco of Macquarie University explained in a press release that the star is nearly three times the size of the Sun, but about 500 million years younger and created shrouds of gas that expanded from the ejection site that left a remnant dense white dwarf star about half the mass of the Sun.
She added that the star likely had up to five stellar companions but the image from JWST only showed two. The team dug into the highly detailed images of the Southern Ring Nebula from JWST's database to reconstruct the scene, SciTech Daily reported. They believe that one or more stars interacted with the dimmer of the two central stars before they created the nebula.
The first star that "danced" with the host created a light display by shooting material jets in opposing directions. It cloaked the feeble star in the dust before retiring. The same dancer, now much smaller, may have blended with the fading star or perhaps been veiled now in its glare.
The star may have moved closer to the central times multiple times and stirred up the jets ejected by the first star, helping create the wavy shapes of the nebula.
There is also believed to be a fourth star with an orbit projected to be wider, which may have contributed to the nebula's creation. It stirred more gas and dust and generated the enormous systems of rings of the nebula. Meanwhile, the well-known fifth star is the bright white-blue star that is visible in images and continues to orbit calmly.
RELATED ARTICLE: NASA James Webb Space Telescope Shares Lovely, High-Resolution Photo Of Southern Ring Nebula [LOOK]
Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.
