A fascinating new video has offered viewers the chance to peer deep into the universe as the new super space telescope James Webb zooms in on a dying star. The footage reveals how the James Webb telescope captured the dazzling, unprecedented image of planetary nebula NGC 3132, known as the Southern Ring Nebula. It is more than 2,000 light-years away from the Earth. The video has been posted on Twitter by the Canadian Space Agency explaining how the telescope focused on its target.
“This video zooms through space to reveal @nasawebb’s image of the Southern Ring Nebula, 2000 light-years from Earth. Canada’s Fine Guidance Sensor allowed the telescope to point at and focus on its target. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and the Webb ERO Production Team,” the tweet said.
WOW! ???? This video zooms through space to reveal @nasawebb‘s image of the Southern Ring Nebula, 2000 light-years from Earth. Canada’s Fine Guidance Sensor allowed the telescope to point at and focus on its target.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and the Webb ERO Production Team pic.twitter.com/my5vbAjD80
— Canadian Space Agency (@csa_asc) July 21, 2022
The Southern Ring Nebula can be seen almost face-on in the image.
The image was among the images released by NASA last week. Despite being called a “planetary nebula”, Southern Ring actually has nothing to do with planets. Instead it is a giant expanding sphere of gas and dust that has been lit up by a dying star at its heart.
The image clearly showed the stars and their layers of light captured by the Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam).
James Webb telescope was constructed by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman Corp and was launched to space for NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts in December 2021 from French Guiana.
Fully operational since last week, Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever built, with astronomers confident it will herald a new era of discovery.