{"id":434117,"date":"2026-01-28T04:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434117\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T04:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:51:11","slug":"stars-final-breath-appears-like-columns-of-smoke-in-breathtaking-new-james-webb-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/434117\/","title":{"rendered":"Star\u2019s Final Breath Appears Like Columns of Smoke in Breathtaking New James Webb Image"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-228833\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Helix-Nebula-interior-ring-credit-NASA-ESA-CSA-STScI-Image-Processing-Alyssa-Pagan-STScI-1024x74.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"504\"  \/>The Helix Nebula interior ring \u2013 credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI)<\/p>\n<p>In a new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the dying breaths of the star at the heart of the famous Helix Nebula are exposed in wonder and radiance.<\/p>\n<p>Imaged many times by previous space telescopes, including Hubble and Spitzer, the Helix Nebula is loved for its similarity to the Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings\u00a0films.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than a physical manifestation of evil, the Helix Nebula is a white dwarf star that\u2019s in the final stages of life.<\/p>\n<p>The circular shape reminiscent of an iris is made up of layers of gas and dust, with the hottest material taking on a blue color, and the coldest a red hue.<\/p>\n<p>A new image by James Webb\u2019s NIRcam instrument takes the detail to a whole new level, with streaks of ionized gas colliding with a ring of cooler material where hydrogen atoms fuse to make molecules in a deep orange color.<\/p>\n<p>At first, it appears like columns of gaseous projectiles\u2014like fireworks or comets, streaking upwards from a burning surface, but when combined with a second image taken from the ground-based Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), one sees that they perceive it in reverse.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-228834\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Helix-Nebula-interior-ring-credit-ESO-VISTA-NASA-ESA-CSA-STScI-J.-Emerson-ESO-Acknowledgment-CAS.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"696\" height=\"403\"  \/>The Helix Nebula interior ring \u2013 credit, ESO, VISTA, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Emerson (ESO); Acknowledgment CASU<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-228835\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Helix-Nebula-by-Hubble-credit-NASA.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"750\"  \/>The Helix Nebula by Hubble \u2013 credit, NASA<\/p>\n<p>The comet-like figures are actually steaming out towards the orange mass before cooling and floating out into space as a red haze where it will seed a new generation of stars and planets, millions of years from now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTogether,\u201d NASA <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/webb\/intricacies-of-helix-nebula-revealed-with-nasas-webb\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">wrote in an article on the image<\/a>, \u201cthe colors show the star\u2019s final breath transforming into the raw ingredients for new worlds, adding to the wealth of knowledge gained from Webb about the origin of planets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At 650 light years from Earth, the Helix Nebula has been observable with telescopes for the last 200 years.<\/p>\n<p>SHARE This Stunning Webb Image With Your Friends Who Love Space\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Helix Nebula interior ring \u2013 credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI) In a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[43295,718,79,193],"class_list":["post-434117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-james-webb","tag-nasa","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}