The James Webb Space Telescope has captured new infrared images of NGC 2392, better known as the Lion Nebula, according to ScienceDaily.
The nebula was previously observed by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2000, which showed its distinctive face-like shape in visible light. Webb’s newer observations, taken with NIRCam and MIRI, provide a sharper look at the same object and reveal details that are harder to see in visible wavelengths.
Those infrared views bring out dense dust and hazy ionized gas around the nebula. At the center is the remains of a dying star, now a white dwarf, whose radiation is shaping the surrounding material and creating the nebula’s recognizable form.
Scientists say the gas and dust have been evolving for thousands of years and will continue moving outward over time. According to ScienceDaily, the Lion Nebula is expected to disperse in about 10,000 years.
