Pair of stars create "fingerprint" in photo taken by James Webb Space Telescope - CBS News

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James Webb scope captures caller representation of Neptune

James Webb scope captures caller representation of Neptune 00:26

Two intertwined stars are creating what looks similar a "fingerprint" successful space. NASA released a photo Wednesday taken of the duo by the James Webb Space Telescope, which shows astatine slightest 17 particulate rings surrounding the stars.

wolfrayetfingerprintstar.jpg Two stars, known collectively arsenic the Wolf-Rayet 140, are creating particulate rings successful abstraction that lucifer a fingerprint successful a photograph taken by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. NASA

The photos were taken with the assistance of the telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument, which was created by NASA and the European Space Agency.

The stars, known collectively arsenic Wolf-Rayet 140, are located 5,000 airy years from Earth, NASA said successful a quality release. Each particulate ringing is formed arsenic the 2 stars travel adjacent unneurotic during their orbit, causing gases emitting from some to compress and marque the rings, NASA explained.

"Transforming state into particulate is somewhat similar turning flour into bread: It requires circumstantial conditions and ingredients," NASA stated astir the particulate rings.

Each ringing takes astir 8 years to form.

"We're looking astatine implicit a period of particulate accumulation from this system," astronomer Ryan Lau said.

NASA revealed that the brace is adjacent the extremity of their life, which volition origin them to illness and signifier a achromatic hole. Stars that are categorized arsenic Wolf-Rayet person astatine slightest 25 times much wide than the sun, and pump retired immense amounts of gas.

The duo whitethorn person shed much than fractional of their archetypal wide implicit time, according to NASA.

Astronomers besides judge the winds coming from the stars swept the surrounding country of immoderate debris that could smear the rings, which is wherefore they tin beryllium seen truthful intelligibly by the telescope.

"There are apt adjacent much rings that person go truthful faint and dispersed, not adjacent Webb tin spot them successful the data," NASA said.

The swept-up worldly from Wolf-Rayet stars tin accumulate and signifier caller stars. NASA revealed determination is immoderate grounds to amusement the prima whitethorn person besides been formed that way.

Only 600 Wolf-Rayet stars person been recovered by astronomers successful the sky, but they accidental determination should beryllium astatine slightest a fewer thousand.

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