{"id":358146,"date":"2026-01-30T01:48:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=938bc20e19791cca1080b61f444d8731"},"modified":"2026-01-30T01:48:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T15:48:33","slug":"webb-zooms-into-helix-nebula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=358146","title":{"rendered":"Webb Zooms into Helix Nebula"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\">\n<div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\">\n<div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\">\n<figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"A closeup of a small section of the Helix Nebula, an expanding shell of gas and dust. Thousands of orange and gold comet-like pillars stream upward from the bottom, like thin liquid blown up a sheet of glass. These pillars are around the circumference of the arced shell, which forms a partial orange semi-circle at the bottom. The pillars are more numerous and denser at the bottom, and darker red. They fade to orange and then yellow in the arc. In the top two-thirds, they are thinner and more golden, and it\u2019s easier to see the black background of space. Several bright blue stars, some with diffraction spikes, are scattered throughout. A few larger stars are on the right side.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" loading=\"eager\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png 11124w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=300,217 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=768,557 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=1024,742 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=1536,1113 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=2048,1485 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=400,290 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=600,435 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=900,652 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=1200,870 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stsci-01kcmamz8zsmrtr9kkd8y6emrj.png?resize=2000,1450 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\">\n<div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">A new image from NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope of a portion of the Helix Nebula highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment. Webb\u2019s image also shows the stark transition between the hottest gas to the coolest gas as the shell expands out from the central white dwarf.<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-credits\">NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb\u2019s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image reveals how stars recycle their material back into the cosmos, seeding future generations of stars and planets, as NASA explores the secrets of the universe and our place in it.<\/p>\n<p>In the image from Webb\u2019s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), pillars that look like comets with extended tails trace the circumference of the inner region of an expanding shell of gas. Here, blistering winds of fast-moving hot gas from the dying star are crashing into slower moving colder shells of dust and gas that were shed earlier in its life, sculpting the nebula\u2019s remarkable structure.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/webb\/intricacies-of-helix-nebula-revealed-with-nasas-webb\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Dive deeper into the Helix Nebula with Webb.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA\u2019s James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb\u2019s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image reveals how stars recycle their [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=358146"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358165,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358146\/revisions\/358165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=358146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=358146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=358146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}