Exposed Cranium Nebula

https://science.nasa.gov/asset/webb/exposed-cranium-nebula-nircam-and-miri-images/

Taken by the Near-Infrared Camera on the JWST, this week’s #spacesunday shows Nebula PMR1, more commonly known as the Exposed Cranium Nebula.

Located around 5,000 light-years from the Vela constellation, the brain-like shape, which gives the nebula its name, is a result of the massive amounts of gas and dust that are expelled from the dying star as it sheds its layers, the outermost of which have settled out as the “skull”.

The long valley down the middle is likely a result of jets of energy from the dying star pushing out gas from that region.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI