Intricacies of Helix Nebula Revealed With NASA’s Webb

Marty McCoy
A closeup of a small section of the Helix Nebula, an expanding shell of gas and dust. Thousands of orange and gold comet-like pillars stream upward from the bottom, like thin liquid blown up a sheet of glass. These pillars are around the circumference of the arced shell, which forms a partial orange semi-circle at the bottom. The pillars are more numerous and denser at the bottom, and darker red. They fade to orange and then yellow in the arc. In the top two-thirds, they are thinner and more golden, and it’s easier to see the black background of space. Several bright blue stars, some with diffraction spikes, are scattered throughout. A few larger stars are on the right side.

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Intricacies of Helix Nebula Revealed With NASA’s Webb

This new image of a portion of the Helix Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment.
Credits:
Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb’s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image reveals how stars recycle their material back into the cosmos, seeding future generations of stars and planets, as NASA explores the secrets of the universe and our place in it.

Image: Helix Nebula (NIRCam)

This new image of a portion of the Helix Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment.Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

In the image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), pillars that look like comets with extended tails trace the circumference of the inner region of an expanding shell of gas. Here, blistering winds of fast-moving hot gas from the dying star are crashing into slower moving colder shells of dust and gas that were shed earlier in its life, sculpting the nebula’s remarkable structure.

The iconic Helix Nebula has been imaged by many ground- and space-based observatories over the nearly two centuries since it was discovered. Webb’s near-infrared view of the target brings these knots to the forefront compared to the ethereal image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, while its increased resolution sharpens focus from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope’s snapshot. Additionally, the new near-infrared look shows the stark transition between the hottest gas to the coolest gas as the shell expands out from the central white dwarf.

Image: Helix Nebula Context (VISTA and Webb)

This image of the Helix Nebula from the ground-based Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (left) shows the full view of the planetary nebula, with a box highlighting Webb’s field of view (right).Image: ESO, VISTA, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Emerson (ESO); Acknowledgment: CASU

A blazing white dwarf, the leftover core of the dying star, lies right at the heart of the nebula, out of the frame of the Webb image. Its intense radiation lights up the surrounding gas, creating a rainbow of features: hot ionized gas closest to the white dwarf, cooler molecular hydrogen farther out, and protective pockets where more complex molecules can begin to form within dust clouds. This interaction is vital, as it’s the raw material from which new planets may one day form in other star systems.

In Webb’s image of the Helix Nebula, color represents the temperature and chemistry. A touch of a blue hue marks the hottest gas in this field, energized by intense ultraviolet light from the white dwarf. Farther out, the gas cools into the yellow regions where hydrogen atoms join into molecules. At the outer edges, the reddish tones trace the coolest material, where gas begins to thin and dust can take shape. Together, the colors show the star’s final breath transforming into the raw ingredients for new worlds, adding to the wealth of knowledge gained from Webb about the origin of planets. 

Spitzer’s studies of the Helix Nebula hinted at the formation of more complex molecules, but Webb’s resolution shows how they form in shielded zones of the scene. In the Webb image, look for dark pockets of space amid the glowing orange and red. 

Video: Observatory Comparison (Hubble/Spitzer/Webb)

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This video compares images of the Helix Nebula from three NASA observatories: Hubble’s image in visible light, Spitzer’s infrared view, and Webb’s high-resolution near-infrared look.Video: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Alyssa Pagan (STScI); Acknowledgment: NASA/JPL-Caltech, ESO, VISTA, CASU, Joseph Hora (CfA), J. Emerson (ESO)

The Helix Nebula is located 650 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Aquarius. It remains a favorite among stargazers and professional astronomers alike due to its relative proximity to Earth, and its similar appearance to the “Eye of Sauron.”

The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

To learn more about Webb, visit:

https://nasa.gov/webb

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The following sections contain links to download this article’s images and videos in all available resolutions followed by related information links, media contacts, and if available, research paper and Spanish translation links.

Related Images & Videos

Helix Nebula (NIRCam)

This new image of a portion of the Helix Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment.

Helix Nebula Context (VISTA and Webb)

This image of the Helix Nebula from the ground-based Visible and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (left) shows the full view of the planetary nebula, with a box highlighting Webb’s field of view (right).

Helix Nebula (NIRCam Compass Image)

This image of the Helix Nebula, captured by the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on Webb, includes compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

Observatory Comparison (Hubble/Spitzer/Webb)

This video compares images of the Helix Nebula from three NASA observatories: Hubble’s image in visible light, Spitzer’s infrared view, and Webb’s high-resolution near-infrared look.

Related Links

Read more: NASA’s Webb Traces Details of Complex Planetary Nebula

Explore more: VViewSpace | Star Death: Helix Nebula

Explore more: ViewSpace | Celestial Tour: Planetary Nebulae—Sculptures in the Sky

Explore more: Stellar Evolution Flipbook Activity Guide

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Last Updated
Sep 21, 2026
LocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Hannah Braun
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland

Christine Pulliam
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland

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