Southern Ring Nebula 'Dying Star' - via NIRCam

At first glance, NGC 3132 appears to be shaped by the bright star near its center, but the true source of this planetary nebula lies just off to the lower left, along one of the bright star’s diffraction spikes. This faint and easily overlooked star has shed at least eight layers of gas and dust over thousands of years, forming the nebula’s complex shell. The system sits about 2,500 light years away in the constellation Vela.

The bright central star visible here has also helped ‘stir the pot’, changing the shape of the nebula’s highly intricate rings by creating turbulence. The pair of stars are locked in a tight orbit, which causes the dimmer star to spray ejected material in a range of directions as they circle one another, resulting in the jagged rings seen here.

This image offers a crisp view of a planetary nebula while also revealing objects in the vast expanse of space behind it. The transparent red regions of the nebula, as well as the areas beyond its outer edge, are filled with distant galaxies.

Look for the bright angled line at the upper left. It is not starlight but a faraway galaxy seen edge on. Distant spirals of many shapes and colors are scattered throughout the scene. Those that lie farthest away, or are heavily shrouded in dust, appear small and red.