The stunning landscape left behind by a star as it completes its life cycle is captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The remnant of Cassiopeia A (Cas A), the remains of the enormous star that exploded 340 years ago from our perspective on Earth, has been caught in unparalleled clarity by Webb’s strong infrared vision.
According to NASA partners, the relic is located in the constellation Cassiopeia at a distance of 11,000 light years and has a diameter of around 10 light years.
The disputed remnant has been recognized by astronomers working with the space observatory as the most recent known explosion of a big star in our galaxy.
This makes it a fantastic chance to study it in depth and learn more about how this kind of supernovae explode. James Webb’s latest shot provides an amazing vista with fresh detail that hasn’t been seen in Cas A.
According to Danny Milisavljevic, principal investigator of the Webb program that made these observations, “Cas A represents our best opportunity to look at the debris field of an exploded star and conduct a sort of stellar autopsy to understand what type of star was there before and how that star exploded.”
