The remnant of a sun-like star reveals the secrets of the famous Ring Nebula, as shown in stunning new images.

One of the most photographed celestial objects is the Ring Nebula. This remnant of a deceased star, similar to our Sun, is located approximately 2000 light-years away from us. The stunning appearance of this nebula has puzzled astronomers for a long time. It was previously unclear whether it truly has a round shape or if that is merely an illusion created by our perspective from Earth. Now, astronomers have tackled this issue and discovered that not only does a dead star reside within the nebula, but there is also another object, as reported by Space.

The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula that formed as a result of the death of a Sun-like star around 4000 years ago. When a less massive star reaches the end of its life, it transforms into a large red giant and sheds its outer layers, leading to the creation of a planetary nebula. The name of these objects is unrelated to planets; it simply stems from the fact that the original discoverers observed they had a planet-like shape.

According to scientists, it was believed that planetary nebulae are round in shape and contain a dead star known as a white dwarf at their center. Such stars emerge after a Sun-like star has expelled all its outer layers and compressed to a very small size, roughly that of Earth's diameter.

Now, researchers have gathered high-resolution images and tracked the movement of carbon monoxide molecules along the boundary of the Ring Nebula, enhancing the understanding of its structure and shape. In particular, astronomers found that the Ring Nebula actually has an elongated oval shape.

The new data on the structure of the planetary nebula allowed astronomers to confirm that a white dwarf star is indeed located at its center. In previous images, this star was not visible at the center of the nebula, but scientists believe this may be related to our viewing angle.

In the images captured by the Webb telescope, scientists discovered several concentric arcs of gas just beyond the outer edge of the nebula, which appear to form every 280 years. This periodicity is linked to the presence of a hidden companion star within the nebula, orbiting the white dwarf, according to the researchers. This companion star is estimated to be at a distance from the white dwarf comparable to that of Pluto from the Sun, which is about 5.9 billion kilometers.