#m57

The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged the Ring Nebula as a glowing green and purple eye, presenting the familiar astronomical object in an altogether new light.  Aside from its stunning aesthetic value, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images show the Ring Nebula, also known as Messier 57 (M57), located around 2,200 light-years away, in intricate detail that will surprise even astronomers who are familiar with the object. Located in the Lyra constellation, the Ring Nebula is a popular target for space enthusiasts as its donut-shaped ring of glowing gas and dust is visible even with small backyard telescopes throughout the summer. "I first saw the Ring Nebula as a kid through just a small telescope," Western University astrophysicist and core member of JWST Ring Nebula Imaging Project, Jan Cami, said in a statement. "I would have never thought that one day, I would be part of the team that would use the world's most powerful space telescope ever built to look at this object." The Ring Nebula is the glowing remains of a long-dead star, a class of astronomical object called a "planetary nebula," which somewhat confusingly has nothing to do with planets. At its heart is a white speck that represents a white dwarf star  —  what remains of that extinct stellar body's core.