NGC 6072 (MIRI image)

The mid-infrared view of planetary nebula NGC 6072 from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope shows expanding circular shells around the outflows from the dying central star, which astronomers suspect is that pinkish white dot at the centre of the image. The longer wavelengths captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) highlight the dust being cast off by the central dying star.

In this image, the blue represents cool molecular gas seen in red in the image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) due to colour mapping.

[Image description: colourful, mostly blue, image of mid-infrared light from a glowing cloud with a distorted, asymmetrical shape. A star at the centre of the image is a small point of pinkish-white light. The asymmetrical shape of the expanding cloud of gas and dust resembles paint splattered on the ground. The filaments of the expanding shells are wispy, and mostly white and blue. The shells appear as lobes that push gas toward the equatorial plane, forming a disc. A perfect circle of white-ish blue dust traces the outer edges of the shells. The background of the image is black and speckled with tiny bright stars and distant galaxies.]