Colorful space ‘butterfly’ glimmers with planet-making dust
The planetary nebula NGC 6302 is one of the most studied cosmic entities of the genre, with a familiar shape and dazzling colors that are up to its nickname “butterfly nebula”. But thanks to the James Webb space telescope (JWST), astronomers acquire even more information on the training located at around 3,400 light years from the earth. Their results, published in the Monthly opinion from the Royal Astronomical SocietyFill the gaps in understanding the birth of the ingredients on a rocky planet.
“We have been able to see both cool precious stones formed in calm and sustainable areas and fiery grime created in violent and rapid parts of space, all in a single object,” said the principal researcher of the University of Cardiff, Mikako Matsuura, in a press release.
Unlike its name, a planetary nebula is not the place where the planets are formed. Inappropriate decommission dates back centuries, when much lower telescopes have revealed them to astronomers. More detailed overviews have revealed that these celestial objects take different forms and are created when a star between 0.8 and eight times the size of our sun begins to lose its mass near the end of his life, when he finally goes Nova. Planetary nebulae are rare sites, in part because they last only about 20,000 years.
![This image takes the spectator in deep diving into the heart of the butterfly nebula, NGC 6302. The butterfly nebula, located about 3400 light years from the Constellation Scorpius, is one of the best studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy. The planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures of the cosmic zoo. These nebulae are formed when stars with masses between approximately 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the sun have lost most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is ephemeral, only lasts 20,000 years. In the center of the butterfly nebula is the old nucleus of a star similar to a sun which energizes the surrounding nebula and makes it shine. This hot central star is hidden at sight with optical wavelengths, but webb infrared capacities have revealed the star and its environment in detail. This image, which combines infrared data from the NASA / ESA / CSA James Webb space telescope with submillimimetric observations of the large millimeters / submillimeters network (Alma), shows the central star -shaped star and the bubbles interconnected with dusty gas that surround the central stars of nebula. The torus is oriented vertically and almost towards the edge of our point of view, and it believes itself with gas bubbles enclosing the star. The bubbles appear in bright red in this image, lit by the light of helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, the jets drawn by ionized iron emission shoot in opposite directions. These features are labeled in an annotated version of this image. [Image description: The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre that is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image.]](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Butterfly-Nebula-Close.jpeg?strip=all&quality=85)
ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, Alma (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO), N. HIRANO, M. ZAMANI (ESA / Webb) ESA / Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, Alma (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO), N. HIRANO, M. ZAMANI (ESA / Webb)
NGC 6302 is considered a bipolar nebula. It has two sections distributed in opposite directions in a motif resembling butterfly wings, with a dark region of gas in the center forming the body of the butterfly. Although this intermediate section is actually in the shape of a tire, it seems flattened when it is seen from here on earth. This position also obscures the ancient and stellar nucleus of NGC 6302. Blazant at a temperature of about 395,540 degrees Fahrenheit, it is one of the hottest of any planetary nebula known in the galaxy of the Milky Way.
All this energy is responsible for the creation of various minerals and the organic materials detected by the median infrared instrument of JWST (MIRI) while they spit from opposite jetstreams. The latest observations provide a wide spectrum of wavelength on the dense gas strip of the butterfly nebula called Tore. Astronomers have confirmed nearly 200 spectral lines, each containing information on the swirling concoction of atoms and molecules by the nebula.
“For years, scientists have debated the way cosmic dust is formed in space. But now, with the help of the powerful James Webb space telescope, we can finally have a clearer image,” said Matsuura.
![This annotated image takes the spectator in deep diving into the heart of the butterfly nebula, NGC 6302, as shown in the space telescope of NASA / ESA / CSA James Webb. The butterfly nebula, located at around 3400 light years in the Scorpius constellation, is one of the best studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy. The planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures of the cosmic zoo. These nebulae are formed when stars with masses between approximately 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the sun have lost most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is ephemeral, only lasts 20,000 years. In the center of the butterfly nebula is the old nucleus of a star similar to a sun which energizes the surrounding nebula and makes it shine. This hot central star is hidden at sight with optical wavelengths, but webb infrared capacities have revealed the star and its environment in detail. This image, which combines webb infrared data with submillimeter observations of the large millimeter / submillimeter Atacama network (Alma), shows the torus -shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the central star of the nebula. The torus is oriented vertically and almost towards the edge of our point of view, and it believes itself with gas bubbles enclosing the star. The bubbles appear in bright red in this image, lit by the light of helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, the jets drawn by ionized iron emission shoot in opposite directions. [Image description: The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre of the image, labeled ‘dying star’. This is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. This ring is labeled in several different places to indicate the near and far sides of a structure called the torus, a dust lane running along the torus and an area where the torus is ionised. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. These lines are labeled to indicate the inner bubble as well as where the bubble intersects with the torus. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object, labeled ‘outer bubble’. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image. These purple streaks are labeled ‘jet’.]](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Butterfly-Nebula-Diagram.jpeg?strip=all&quality=85)
Most cosmic dust have random atomic structures and appear to be soot. Thanks to the extreme stellar energy of NGC 6302, the particles of the nebula merge in other materials. These include crystalline silicates like quartz, as well as sparkling metals such as iron and nickel.
The authors of the study were particularly surprised by the discovery of carbon molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HAP) in the butterfly nebula. These chemical components in the shape of a honeycomb are most often on earth in the exhaust of the car, wood smoke and toasted bread. The team noted that this discovery could be the first concrete proof of the HAPs which are formed within a planetary nebula and could help explain where such molecules come from space.
Planetary nebulae may not create real planets like Earth, but they work like factories that produce the components of a planet rich in carbon. With more time and data, astronomers, including Matsuura, hope to acquire even more important information on the place where our house – and by extension all life.
“This discovery is a big step forward to understand how the basic materials of the planets meet,” he said.
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