{"id":102302,"date":"2025-08-28T03:13:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T03:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/102302\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T03:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T03:13:24","slug":"colorful-space-butterfly-glimmers-with-planet-making-dust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/102302\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorful space \u2018butterfly\u2019 glimmers with planet-making dust"},"content":{"rendered":"

The planetary nebula<\/a> 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 \u201cButterfly Nebula<\/a>\u201d nickname. But thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope<\/a> (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<\/a>, are filling in the gaps in understanding how a rocky planet\u2019s ingredients are born.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d Cardiff University lead researcher Mikako Matsuura said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Contrary to its name, a planetary nebula isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

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\u2019s body. While this mid section is actually tire-shaped, it appears flattened when viewed from here on Earth. This position also obscures NGC 6302\u2019s ancient, stellar core. Blazing at a temperature of around 395,540 degrees Fahrenheit, it\u2019s one of the hottest of any known planetary nebula in the Milky Way galaxy.<\/p>\n

All of that energy is responsible for creating the diverse minerals and organic materials detected by JWST\u2019s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) as they spew from opposite jetstreams. The latest observations provide a wide wavelength spectrum look at the Butterfly Nebula\u2019s dense band of gas known as a torus. Astronomers confirmed almost 200 spectral lines, each containing information about the nebula\u2019s swirling concoction of atoms and molecules.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 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,\u201d said Matsuura.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

Most cosmic dust exhibits random atomic structures, and appears like soot. Thanks to NGC 6302\u2019s extreme stellar energy, the nebula\u2019s particles fuse into other materials. These include crystalline silicates like quartz, as well as glimmering metals such as iron and nickel.<\/p>\n

The study\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Planetary nebulae may not create actual planets like Earth, but they do operate like factories that churn out a carbon-rich planet\u2019s components. With more time and data, astronomers including Matsuura hope to gain even greater insights about where our home\u2014and by extension all life\u2014originated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis discovery is a big step forward in understanding how the basic materials of planets come together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The planetary nebula NGC 6302 is one the most-studied of cosmic entities of its kind, with a familiar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":102303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2025,58986,49,48,4983,58987,58988,58985,66],"class_list":["post-102302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-astronomers","tag-butterfly-nebula","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-james-webb-space-telescope","tag-m-matsuura","tag-mikako-matsuura","tag-planetary-nebula","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}