Webb Telescope Captures Prelude to Supernova in New NASA Image

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a rare image of a Wolf-Rayet star, shedding a halo of gas and dust, which is seeding the cosmos with elements necessary for forming other stars, planets, and the building blocks of life. The star is 30 times the mass of the sun and has shed material equivalent to 10 suns. The glowing cloud of gas and dust surrounding the star spans 10 light-years across. Webb's huge size and sensitive instruments should yield new insights into how dust is created in the universe, particularly in hard-to-see environments like Wolf-Rayet stars.