The planetary nebula NGC 6302 is one the most-studied of cosmic entities of its kind, with a familiar shape and dazzling colors that live up to its “Butterfly Nebula” nickname. But thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers are gaining even more insights into the formation located about 3,400 light-years from Earth. Their findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, are filling in the gaps in understanding how a rocky planet’s ingredients are born.

“We were able to see both cool gemstones formed in calm, long-lasting zones and fiery grime created in violent, fast-moving parts of space, all within a single object,” Cardiff University lead researcher Mikako Matsuura said in a statement.

Contrary to its name, a planetary nebula isn’t where planets form. The misnomer dates back centuries, when much lower-power telescopes made them appear round to astronomers. More detailed glimpses revealed that these celestial objects take various shapes, and are created when a star between 0.8 and eight times the size of our sun starts shedding its mass near the end of its life, when it ultimately goes nova. Planetary nebulae are rare sights, in part because they only last around 20,000 years.

This image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy. Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20 000 years. At the centre of the Butterfly Nebula is the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energises the surrounding nebula and causes it to glow. This scorching central star is hidden from view at optical wavelengths, but Webb’s infrared capabilities have revealed the star and its surroundings in great detail. This image, which combines infrared data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with submillimetre observations from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA), shows the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the nebula’s central star. The torus is oriented vertically and nearly edge-on from our perspective, and it intersects with bubbles of gas enclosing the star. The bubbles appear bright red in this image, illuminated by the light from helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, jets traced by emission from ionised iron shoot off in opposite directions. These features are labeled in an annotated version of this image. [Image description: The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre that is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image.]

This image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy. Credit
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb) ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

NGC 6302 is considered a bipolar nebula. It has two sections spreading out in opposite directions in a pattern resembling butterfly wings, with a dark region of gas at the center forming the butterfly’s body. While this mid section is actually tire-shaped, it appears flattened when viewed from here on Earth. This position also obscures NGC 6302’s ancient, stellar core. Blazing at a temperature of around 395,540 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s one of the hottest of any known planetary nebula in the Milky Way galaxy.

All of that energy is responsible for creating the diverse minerals and organic materials detected by JWST’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) as they spew from opposite jetstreams. The latest observations provide a wide wavelength spectrum look at the Butterfly Nebula’s dense band of gas known as a torus. Astronomers confirmed almost 200 spectral lines, each containing information about the nebula’s swirling concoction of atoms and molecules.

“For years, scientists have debated how cosmic dust forms in space. But now, with the help of the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, we may finally have a clearer picture,” said Matsuura.

This annotated image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, as seen by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy. Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20 000 years. At the centre of the Butterfly Nebula is the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energises the surrounding nebula and causes it to glow. This scorching central star is hidden from view at optical wavelengths, but Webb’s infrared capabilities have revealed the star and its surroundings in great detail. This image, which combines infrared data from Webb with submillimetre observations from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA), shows the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the nebula’s central star. The torus is oriented vertically and nearly edge-on from our perspective, and it intersects with bubbles of gas enclosing the star. The bubbles appear bright red in this image, illuminated by the light from helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, jets traced by emission from ionised iron shoot off in opposite directions. [Image description: The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre of the image, labeled ‘dying star’. This is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. This ring is labeled in several different places to indicate the near and far sides of a structure called the torus, a dust lane running along the torus and an area where the torus is ionised. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. These lines are labeled to indicate the inner bubble as well as where the bubble intersects with the torus. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object, labeled ‘outer bubble’. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image. These purple streaks are labeled ‘jet’.]

This annotated image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, as seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Most cosmic dust exhibits random atomic structures, and appears like soot. Thanks to NGC 6302’s extreme stellar energy, the nebula’s particles fuse into other materials. These include crystalline silicates like quartz, as well as glimmering metals such as iron and nickel.

The study’s authors were particularly surprised by the discovery of carbon-based molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Butterfly Nebula. These honeycomb-shaped chemical components are most often found on Earth in car exhaust, woodsmoke, and burnt toast. The team noted that this find may be the first concrete evidence of PAHs forming inside a planetary nebula, and could help explain where such molecules originate in space.

Planetary nebulae may not create actual planets like Earth, but they do operate like factories that churn out a carbon-rich planet’s components. With more time and data, astronomers including Matsuura hope to gain even greater insights about where our home—and by extension all life—originated.

“This discovery is a big step forward in understanding how the basic materials of planets come together,” he said.