A New Image of the Red Spider Nebula Captures the Radiance of a Dying Star
Planetary nebulae form when Sun-like stars shed ionized gases at end of life, as exemplified by Webb NIRCam's image of the Red Spider Nebula (NGC 6537).
Planetary nebulae form when Sun-like stars eject outer layers and hot contracting cores ionize the expelled gas, with binary companions shaping diverse bipolar structures.