Lion Nebula (NIRCam and MIRI Image)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) instruments recently imaged planetary nebula NGC 2392, which is nicknamed the Lion Nebula due to its distinct shape. This near- and mid-infrared composite image reveals the complex structure of the nebula, which has formed and continues to be sculpted by the remains of a dying star. The stellar core, also known as a white dwarf, is located at the center and looks like the button nose of the lion.

The central dying star is so hot that its radiation is “cooking” everything from the inside and producing a bubble of ionized hydrogen gas as it does. The gas bubble, which is the lion’s “face,” features cavernous shells and rings with tendrils that are expanding and destroying dust upon encounter.

However, not all dust is obliterated from the scene. The lion’s mane is the interior of a dust shell that is being illuminated by the central star’s core. Within the mane some compact clumps of dust (red and orange) have managed to survive so far and are protecting the material that lies behind them. Additional clumps of molecular hydrogen appear yellow.

The Lion Nebula is a snapshot in time. It’s taken several thousand years for the gas and dust to be shaped in this way, and it continues to change as the star drives away the material. Astronomers estimate NGC 2392 will eventually disperse in about 10,000 years, which is a relatively short period in astronomical terms.