James Webb reveals: Sun will disappear in 5 billion years The countdown begins

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Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 01:00 PM

What does it look like when the sun goes down? A question that concerns many interested in space science, NASA has answered it by giving us a glimpse of what our star hides, and a telescope to help. James Webb alien

The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed stunning images of the final stages of a distant star’s life, providing a snapshot of what will happen to our Sun in about 5 billion years.

Images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reported new features in a stunning donut-shaped structure of glowing gas known as the Ring Nebula.

Also known as Messier 57, this fascinating object is located about 2,600 light-years from Earth and was born from a dying star that blew its outer layers into space.

NASA explains that the ejection of interstellar material gives this cosmic masterpiece its unique texture and vibrant colors.

A similar image taken by Webb was released earlier this month, but a new image taken by a different camera at the $10 billion (£7.4 billion) lab revealed unprecedented detail in the ring’s outer reaches.

Mike Barlow, a professor at University College London, lead scientist on the Nebula project, said JWST Ring: “This stunning photo reveals Miri We don’t notice James Webb using new details NIRCam Especially the arches behind the main ring.

These formed during the central star’s red giant phase, before it shed most of its material to become the current hot white dwarf star.

“Our team’s preliminary analysis suggests that a low-mass companion star with an eccentric orbit accrets material from a star that dies every 280 years, triggering the formation of these arcs.”

Together, Webb’s images reveal the complex structures of the Ring Nebula — its rings, bubbles and faint clouds — in unprecedented detail. The main ring of the nebula contains 20,000 volumes of dense molecular hydrogen gas, each about the mass of Earth.

But beyond this outer edge of the main ring, a picture emerged Webb’s MIRI (mid-infrared instrument) has about 10 concentration curves for the first time.

Astronomers say these planets should form about once every 280 years. However, no known process associated with the evolution of a star into a nebula has this kind of period, so the arcs are thought to have formed by interacting with a companion star at the same distance from the dying red giant. Pluto is from our Sun.

Dr Roger Wesson, from Cardiff University, said: “You have provided us with images Miri This is the most accurate and clear view of the faint molecular halo outside the bright ring.”