NGC 6072: A Complex Planetary Nebula from Webb
Why is this nebula so complex?
The Webb Space Telescope has imaged a nebula
in great detail that is thought to have emerged from a
Sun-like star.
NGC 6072 has been resolved into one of the
more unusual and complex examples of
planetary nebula.
The
featured image is in
infrared light with the red color highlighting cool
hydrogen gas.
Study of previous images of NGC 6072 indicated several likely
outflows and two
disks inside the jumbled gas,
while the new Webb image resolves new features
likely including one disk's edge protruding on the central left.
A leading
origin hypothesis holds that the nebula's complexity is caused or enhanced by multiple outbursts from a star in a
multi-star system near the center.