Discover the cosmosEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation:Are we looking at the future of our Sun?
TheJames Webb Space Telescopecapturedtoday’s composite imageof the Lion’s Head Nebula with itsNIRCamandMIRIinstruments.
The Lion’s Head Nebula is theremnant of a Sun-like star.
This star was unable to sustain thenuclear fusionin its core needed to remain stable.
It began to shed layers of gas and dust into space, forming thisplanetary nebula.
A hot stellar core, called awhite dwarf, is left behind within the lion’s nose.
Do notboopthis nose
Intense radiation from the white dwarf isionizingthe gas as it expands, creating the irregular bubble that makes up the lion’s face.
Dust clumpsthat have survived the white dwarf’s radiation and a cloud of ionized gas make up the lion’s mane.
Thisnew and more detailed viewof the nebula will help humanity learn more about how the gas and dust interact with each other and the white dwarf radiation.
Tomorrow’s picture:a waterfall of light