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A NASA, agência espacial norte-americana, divulgou novas imagens captadas pelo telescópio James Webb da Nebulosa do Anel, que abriga uma estrela gigante no fim de seu ciclo estelar.
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As imagens tiveram o auxílio dos instrumentos Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) e Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI), e ajudam a explicar os processos da vida de uma estrela semelhante ao sol.
A primeira foi produzida pela NIRCam e destaca os filamentos internos da estrela, já à segunda imagem, da MIRI, mostra detalhes de outras regiões da nebulosa. Confira abaixo:
![The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. Also known as M57 and NGC 6720, it is both relatively close to Earth at roughly 2,500 light-years away. This new image provides unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity. For example, the intricate details of the filament structure of the inner ring are particularly visible in this dataset. There are some 20,000 dense globules in the nebula, which are rich in molecular hydrogen. In contrast, the inner region shows very hot gas. The main shell contains a thin ring of enhanced emission fromcarbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Roughly ten concentric arcs are located just beyond the outer edge of the main ring. The arcs are thought to originate from the interaction of the central star with a low-mass companion orbiting at a distance comparable to that between the Earth and the dwarf planet Pluto. In this way, nebulae like the Ring Nebula reveal a kind of astronomical archaeology, as astronomers study the nebula to learn about the star that created it. [Image description: This image of the Ring Nebula appears as a distorted doughnut. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of blue and green, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of orange in the inner regions and pink in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements.]](https://uploads.jovemnerd.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nebulosa_do_anel_james_webb_1_nerdbunker__zwh7i2f.jpg?ims=1009x1024/filters:quality(75))
![The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. Also known as M57 and NGC 6720, it is both relatively close to Earth at roughly 2,500 light-years away. This new image provides unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity. In particular, Webb’s MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument) reveals particular details in the concentric features in the outer regions of the nebulae’s ring (right). There are some 20,000 dense globules in the nebula, which are rich in molecular hydrogen. In contrast, the inner region shows very hot gas. The main shell contains a thin ring of enhanced emission fromcarbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Roughly ten concentric arcs located just beyond the outer edge of the main ring. The arcs are thought to originate from the interaction of the central star with a low-mass companion orbiting at a distance comparable to that between the Earth and the dwarf planet Pluto. In this way, nebulae like the Ring Nebula reveal a kind of astronomical archaeology, as astronomers study the nebula to learn about the star that created it. [Image description: This image of the Ring Nebula appears as a distorted doughnut. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of red and orange, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of yellow in the inner regions and blue/purple in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements.]](https://uploads.jovemnerd.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/nebulosa_do_anel_james_webb_2_nerdbunker__28k2sw07.jpg?ims=1024x827/filters:quality(75))
A nebulosa, também conhecida como M57 e NGC 6720, está localizada a aproximadamente 2.500 anos-luz de distância da Terra.
Em entrevista ao blog da NASA, professor da Universidade de Cardiff, Roger Wesson, dá mais detalhes sobre o que as imagens revelam:
"Antigamente, pensava-se que as nebulosas planetárias eram objetos simples, com uma única estrela moribunda no centro [...] Observações modernas, no entanto, mostram que a maioria das nebulosas planetárias exibe uma enorme complexidade. Isso levanta a questão: como uma estrela esférica cria estruturas não esféricas tão delicadas?”
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Fonte: NASA
Pedro Siqueira)
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