An Unusual Planetary Nebula

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       NGC 6072 in near-infared light, James Webb Space Telescope: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

·       NGC 6072 in mid-infared light, James Webb Space Telescope: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI

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Title: News From the Universe.

August 8, 2025. An Unusual Planetary Nebula.

Planetary nebulae are created when an aging star expels shells of gas.

They get their name from their typically circular shape, though some take on more abstract forms.

NGC 6 0 7 2 is unusually asymmetrical, as revealed in new detail by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

In near-infrared light, several elliptical, bi-polar outflows are apparent.

From 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock.

1 o'clock to 7 o'clock.

And possibly a third from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock.

Mid-infrared light reveals the aging star at the heart of the nebula.

Astronomers suspect there is also an undetectable companion star present, and the gravitational interaction between the two as they orbit one another is creating the nebula's distinctive shape.

This news was brought to you in part by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.