NGC 6072 (NIRCam image)

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s view of planetary nebula NGC 6072 in the near-infrared shows a complex scene of multiple outflows expanding out at different angles from a dying star at the centre of the scene. These outflows push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc.

Astronomers suspect there is at least one other star interacting with the material cast off by the central dying star, creating the abnormal appearance of this planetary nebula.

In this image, the red areas represent cool molecular gas, for example, molecular hydrogen.

[Image description: colourful mostly red image of near-infrared light from a glowing cloud with a distorted, asymmetrical shape, illuminated from within by a bright central star. The asymmetrical shape resembles paint splattered on the ground. In the centre of this image, a light blue glow casts over areas of dark pockets that appear dark blue and are traced with orange material. It has a clumpy appearance. The shells become a deeper red with distance from the centre. The shells appear as lobes that push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc. The background of the image is black and speckled with tiny bright stars and distant galaxies.]