时间:2025-04-26 13:06:03 来源:网络整理编辑:時尚
These dust clouds — intense plumes of citron, blush, and magenta — are not signs of bloo
These dust clouds — intense plumes of citron, blush, and magenta — are not signs of blooming as they tend to be on Earth but the final sputters of a dying star in this new deep space image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
At the center of this blossom-like structure is a blue-white star, born 30 times more massive than the sun. Because it is old and close to collapsing into a black hole, it burns hotter and generates powerful gas winds. It's called Wolf-Rayet 124, a star in the midst of a rare and brief phase before going supernova.
Scientists released the new snapshot during the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals on Tuesday in Austin, Texas. The event included a NASA and European Space Agency expert panel to discuss the telescope’s latest scientific discoveries.
"This is Carl Sagan's stardust concept, the fact that iron in your blood and the calcium in your bones were literally forged inside of a star that exploded billions of years ago," said NASA astrophysicist Amber Straughn at the conference. "That's what we're seeing in this new image — that dust is spreading out into the cosmos and will eventually create planets, and this is how we got here."
SEE ALSO:Webb telescope just saw more galaxies in a snapshot than Hubble's deepest lookTweet may have been deleted
Webb, the preeminent observatory in the sky, was built to see an early period of the universe, using a large primary mirror that can detect invisible light at infrared wavelengths. A lot of dust and gas in space obscures the view to extremely distant and inherently dim light sources, but infrared waves can penetrate through the clouds.
Want more scienceand tech news delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newslettertoday.
The star showcased in the new image is located some 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. It is wrapped in a cocoon of gas and dust — shedded layers of the star commingled with complicated elements found deep inside a star like carbon. So far, it has sloughed off 10 sun's-worth of material, according to researchers.
"Iron in your blood and the calcium in your bones were literally forged inside of a star that exploded billions of years ago."
Tweet may have been deleted
A previous Webb study makes a strong case that Wolf-Rayet stars produce carbon-rich dust molecules, the same chemical that largely makes up humans and other life on Earth. Astronomers study these rare Wolf-Rayet stars for insight into how cosmic dust spreads through the universe, seeding new galaxies and stars, said Macarena Garcia Marin, an ESA scientist on the panel.
With Webb, scientists will try to better understand dust-making factories like this special star.
"We know that when the stars are this big, they live fast. They go through different stages in very quick time," said Marin. "And only some of them end up being in this Wolf-Rayet (phase) to later on become a supernova."
TopicsNASA
Tyler, the Creator helped Frank Ocean celebrate 'Blonde' release in a delicious way2025-04-26 12:57
河北隊大概率不會缺席聯賽 主教練及核心外援均已抵達中國2025-04-26 12:54
米盧:遺憾中國可能缺席世界杯 可以把目標定在20262025-04-26 12:19
曝索爾斯克亞曾問價武磊 表示去他手下踢一年可以去英超2025-04-26 11:59
Two astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space Station2025-04-26 11:49
國足隊員回顧兩場比賽坦言不滿意:我從頭至尾看了至少兩遍2025-04-26 11:47
山東泰山將全力向雙冠王發起衝擊 近期將赴上海或廣州訓練2025-04-26 11:45
水慶霞合約至巴黎奧運 陳婉婷不會出現在女足教練組2025-04-26 11:26
Cat gets stuck in the most awkward position ever2025-04-26 11:19
中國國字號2021比賽回顧 :兩位7號挑大梁 王霜武磊獨木難支(圖)2025-04-26 11:12
Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold2025-04-26 12:50
索帥下課曼聯兩極分化:桑喬林皇涅槃 C羅B費失寵2025-04-26 12:47
英格蘭隊官宣與索斯蓋特續約至2024年 年薪達600萬鎊2025-04-26 12:43
津門虎外援與隊友相處越來越融洽 驚歎掃碼能展現行動軌跡2025-04-26 12:35
This app is giving streaming TV news a second try2025-04-26 12:09
伊布:我就是故意撞倒AZP 誰讓他欺負我隊友? !2025-04-26 12:02
激情依舊!孔蒂喜提聯賽首勝 麵向球迷振臂怒吼2025-04-26 12:01
浙江隊拿下開門紅主帥喬迪十分滿意 盛讚弗蘭克高天語非常出色2025-04-26 11:50
Sound the alarms: Simone Biles finally met Zac Efron2025-04-26 11:09
曼聯眾將告別索帥 博格巴:感謝所有的美好時刻 !2025-04-26 10:54