When low mass stars approach the end of their main source phase, they sell gas clouds that expand to planetary fogs. Since they were identified for the first time at the end of the 1700s, astronomers have identified fog of all forms and sizes, with most of the circular, elliptical or bipolar. Some fogs of this pattern, including the NGC 6072 nebulae, which was about 3,060 light years in the southern constellation scorpius. In a new series of high -resolution pictures of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have found some special patterns that could offer insights into the life cycle of stars.
At first glance, the pictures, which were recorded with the near infrared camera (Nicam) and the mid-infrared instrument (Miri) from WebB, indicate that NGC 6072 is a huge chaos that reminds of a beetle sprayed on a windshield. However, the structure, which is due to the instruments of WebB, suggests that some very complex mechanisms work in it. The nircam data show a hot central core area, which lights up with a light blue shade that is surrounded by elliptical drains that give it a multipolar configuration. These drains have led to two gas and dust flaps, which cross the center in almost vertical angles, while a third-party extends perpendicular to the formation of an equatorial level.
The central region covers a large area of dark pockets, which is surrounded by orange material that grows reddish, the further it is from the center. This is in line with the colder gas and dust the further it dares from the hot central core. The three-louse structure could mean that at least two stars are in the center of the fog and probably consist of a younger companion of the aging star, which has already lost most of its material. The Miri data now record the longer-wave infrared data that highlight the web-like structure that is generated by the dust outfits.
The NGC 6072 fog, as the Miri instrument from Webb mapped. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI
This picture also shows the star that could be of central importance for the fog (which appears as a pink-white point) and concentric rings that expand from the central region to the edges of the rags. This could also be proof of a secondary star in the center, which circles the older star and cut out rings. Alternatively, the rings could have been caused by pulsations in the drains, in which gas and dust were expelled in long intervals (every thousand years or so) in all directions. The areas that are shown by Nircam (red) and Miri (blue) both pursue the cool gas in the cloud (probably molecular hydrogen), while the central regions track hot ionized gas.
While the aging star cools down in the middle, the fog is dissolved into the interstellar medium (ISM) and contributes to the heavier elements from which new stars and planetary systems will form. Investigation of the planetary fog is a main goal for the JWST, which provides new insights into the life cycle of stars and its effects on the surrounding environments. These studies could also illuminate light on what can become of our sun if it reaches the end of its main phase in billions of years.
Further reading: Webb Space Telescope
