DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

James Webb telescope captures rare “fingerprints” two stars create in space

Oct 17, 2022 by Dunja Djudjic Leave a Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured a remarkable image of a rare sight. It immediately sparked my imagination and reminded me that we’re connected to our universe in all sorts of ways.

The latest JWST image shows two stars “dancing,” forming trails around them. There are at least 17 concentric dust rings around the pair, and they are surprisingly alike human fingerprints.

This star duo is collectively known as Wolf-Rayet 140, and it’s located just over 5,000 light-years from Earth. NASA explains that each ring was created “when the two stars came close together and their stellar winds (streams of gas they blow into space) met, compressing the gas and forming dust.” The resulting trails appear as a fingerprint, but there’s more to it. Similar to the rings of a tree trunk, these trails mark the passage of time, since the stars’ orbits bring them together about once every eight years.

Multiply the 17 rings by eight years – and you get 136 years of time captured in a single image. Isn’t that mind-blowing? What’s also remarkable about this photo is that it confirms just how powerful JWST is.  “Before, we were only able to see two dust rings, using ground-based telescopes,” said Ryan Lau, an astronomer at NSF’s NOIRLab. “Now we see at least 17 of them.”

[via Science Alert, image credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScl/JPL-Caltech]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

James Webb telescope captures the most distant and oldest galaxy ever observed James Webb Space Telescope exceeds expectation after finished mirror alignment James Webb Space Telescope sends back its first photos James Webb Telescope’s storage space is smaller than your smallest SSD

Filed Under: news Tagged With: James Webb, james webb telescope, NASA, space, space exploration, space photography, stars

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Fly right over Mount Everest with this drone video shot at 9000 metres
AfterShoot culls and edits your photos in the time it takes to make a cup of tea »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony’s ZV-E1 is a cut-down FX3 in a vlogging form factor
  • Watch: How good (or bad) is an $8.50 tripod?
  • How to light and photograph Lego building interiors
  • Lighting Setup: How to light your portraits with £50 LED tubes
  • Review: Insta360 announces its first gimbal – The AI-tracking Insta360 Flow

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy