Webb Captures Haunting Image Of A Dying Star's Human-Like Brain Pattern
Officially known as PMR 1, this nebula is a planetary shroud of gas and dust located roughly 5,000 light-years away. It was formed when an aging star, now in a eruptive transitional stage, began shedding its outer layers into space. While the retired Spitzer Space Telescope first observed this region over a decade ago, Webb’s superior infrared vision has now resolved the grey matter within, revealing a complex internal morphology that previous observatories could not clearly penetrate.
The nebula’s most distinctive feature is a dark vertical lane running through its center, mimicking the longitudinal fissure separating the brain's left and right hemispheres. NASA scientists believe this division may be the result of a powerful outburst or twin jets of gas projecting away from the central star in opposite directions. JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) provided particularly clear evidence of this activity, capturing hot, ionized gas as it appears to erupt from the top of the cosmic cranium.
According to the AAO/UKST Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane and Magellanic Clouds (1998-2003), PMR-1 is driven by a Wolf-Rayet type central star, while data from JWST now provides a chemical map of the star's death in process. The presence of complex organic molecules, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), has been detected within the folds of this space brain. PAHs can help astronomers understand the life cycle of stellar dust and organic compounds in the galaxy, similar to studies in the Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1).
The structural beauty of the Exposed Cranium Nebula is a temporary phenomenon. Astronomers estimate that such shells of gas persist for only 10,000 to 20,000 years before dissipating into the background of the galaxy. For now, the JWST continues to monitor the site to determine the star’s eventual fate. If the core remains massive enough, it may culminate in a supernova explosion; otherwise, it will slowly settle into a white dwarf, a cooling ember marking the end of its multi-billion-year lifespan.
