El telescopio espacial James Webb de la NASA ha observado la conocida nebulosa del anillo con detalles sin precedentes. Formada por una estrella que arroja sus capas externas a medida que se queda sin combustible, la nebula del anillo es una arquetípica planeador . También conocido como M57 y NGC 6720, está relativamente cerca de la Tierra a aproximadamente 2,500 años luz de distancia.
Esta nueva imagen del NIRCAM de Webb (cámara de infrarrojo casi) proporciona una resolución espacial sin precedentes y sensibilidad espectral. Por ejemplo, los detalles intrincados de la estructura del filamento del anillo interno son particularmente visibles en este conjunto de datos.
Hay unos 20,000 glóbulos densos en la nebulosa, que son ricos en hidrógeno molecular. En contraste, la región interna muestra gas muy caliente. La cubierta principal contiene un anillo delgado de emisión mejorada de moléculas a base de carbono conocidas como hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP). Aproximadamente diez arcos concéntricos se encuentran justo más allá del borde exterior del anillo principal. Se cree que los arcos se originan a partir de la interacción de la estrella central con un órbito acompañante de baja masa a una distancia comparable a la de la Tierra y Plutón. De esta manera, las nebulosas como la nebulosa del anillo revelan una especie de arqueología astronómica, ya que los astrónomos estudian la nebulosa para aprender sobre la estrella que la creó.
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Ring Nebula, M57, NGC 6720 |
| Object Description | Planetary nebula |
| R.A. Position | 18:53:35 |
| Dec. Position | +33:01:45 |
| Constellation | Lyra |
| Distance | 2,300 light-years |
| Dimensions | 2.14 x 2.17 arcminutes |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created with Webb data from proposal: (M. Barlow) |
| Instrument | NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) |
| Exposure Dates | 4 August 2022 |
| Filters | F162M, F212N, F300M, F335M |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the NIRCam instrument. Several filters were used to sample specific wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F162M, Cyan: F212N, Green: F300M, Red: F335M |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
