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Southern Ring Nebula (MIRI Compass Image)
This image of the Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132), captured by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes 0.25 years for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers. The field of view shown in this image is approximately 1.4 light-years across.
This image shows invisible mid-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which MIRI filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
Extended Description and Image Alt Text
Extended Description
Image titled “James Webb Space Telescope; Southern Ring NGC 3132,” with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.
Image
The Southern Ring Nebula is a large, semi-transparent oval that is slightly angled from top left to bottom right. Two stars appear at the center very close to one another. The one at left is red, the one at right is light blue. The blue star has tiny diffraction spikes around it. A large translucent red oval surrounds the central stars. From the red oval, shells extend in a mix of colors. The shells that extend to the left and right are red and the shells that extend to the top and bottom are teal. The shells appear to have a filamentous pattern, similar to the surface of a cut citrus fruit. The shells darken in color with distance from the center. The background is black and speckled with tiny bright stars and distant galaxies in a range of colors.
Compass Arrows, Scale Bar, and Color Key
At the bottom left are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The north arrow points in the 4 o’clock direction. The east arrow points toward 1 o’clock. At the lower right is a scale bar labeled 0.25 light-years. The length of the scale bar is a little less than one-fifth the total width of the image. Below the image is a color key showing which MIRI filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From left to right: F770W is blue; F1130W is blue-green; F1280W is green; and F1800W is red.
Image Alt Text
Colorful image of mid-infrared light from shells of wispy cloud-like material with two stars in the middle, with compass arrows, scale bar, and color key.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.10:06:58.54
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-40:26:00
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Vela
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.2,000 light-years (590 parsecs)
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.Image is about 2.4 arcmin across (1.4 light-years)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.This image was created with Webb data from proposal 2733. It is part of Webb Early Release Observations.
The Early Release Observations and associated materials were developed, executed, and compiled by the ERO production team:
Jaclyn Barrientes, Claire Blome, Hannah Braun, Matthew Brown, Margaret Carruthers, Dan Coe, Joseph DePasquale, Nestor Espinoza, Macarena Garcia Marin, Karl Gordon, Alaina Henry, Leah Hustak, Andi James, Ann Jenkins, Anton Koekemoer, Stephanie LaMassa, David Law, Alexandra Lockwood, Amaya Moro-Martin, Susan Mullally, Alyssa Pagan, Dani Player, Klaus Pontoppidan, Charles Proffitt, Christine Pulliam, Leah Ramsay, Swara Ravindranath, Neill Reid, Massimo Robberto, Elena Sabbi, Leonardo Ubeda.
The EROs were also made possible by the foundational efforts and support from the JWST instruments, STScI planning and scheduling, Data Management teams, and Office of Public Outreach.
- InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.MIRI
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.12 June 2022
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.MIRI>F770W, F1130W, F1280W, F1800W
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132, Eight-Burst Nebula
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Planetary Nebula
- Release DateJuly 12, 2022
- Science ReleaseNASA’s Webb Captures Dying Star’s Final ‘Performance’ in Fine Detail
- CreditImage: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the James Webb Space Telescope using the MIRI instrument. Several filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: F1800W, Green: F1280W, Cyan: F1130W, Blue: F770W
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Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI
