Southern Ring Nebula

The Southern Ring Nebula was one of the first cosmic targets captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2022. The JWST used its Near-Infrared Camera and Mid-Infrared Instrument to reveal unprecedented details of the dying star at the center of NGC 3132.

The official astronomical designation for the Southern Ring Nebula is NGC 3132, and it is occasionally referred to as the Eight-Burst Nebula. It is classified as a planetary nebula located approximately 2,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Vela.

NGC 3132 is a planetary nebula, which is an expanding shell of glowing gas and dust ejected by a dying star in its final stages of life. The James Webb Space Telescope images from 2022 clearly revealed that the central dying star is actually part of a binary star system.

The Southern Ring Nebula (NGC 3132) is located in the southern constellation of Vela. Because of its southern celestial position, it is primarily visible to observers located in the Southern Hemisphere rather than the Northern Hemisphere.