Observing across the starry “plains” of space, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has taken images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula.

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope previously viewed this planetary nebula in 2000, imaging the lion face-shaped target in visible light and revealing features such as the “mane” of hazy, comet-shaped objects. Now Webb has captured a clearer, more detailed view of the Lion Nebula due to its high-resolution imaging.

At first glance the nebula’s overall structure in Webb’s infrared images, both with the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument), may look quite similar to Hubble's earlier visible-light view. However, Webb's infrared vision highlights features like compact clumps of dust and haze of ionised gas. It’s taken several thousand years for this collection of gas and dust to reach its current shape, and the nebula’s components continue to be altered.

The source of these constant changes and the reason for the Lion Nebula’s distinct appearance is located at the centre: the remains of a dying star. Though it looks like the button nose of the lion, its energy and radiation are powering the intricate structures seen here.

Massive stars undergo supernova explosions at the end of their lives, but these kinds of events are far and few between. Most of the Universe’s stars have lower masses, like the one belonging to NGC 2392. When a lower-mass star can no longer sustain itself with nuclear reactions in its core, the star becomes unstable and pulsates, losing its mass by shedding its outer layers, which then turn into shells of gas and dust called a planetary nebula (stars at this life stage are responsible for producing much of the Universe’s observable dust). The star’s radiation drives the ejected material away, leaving behind the very hot stellar core, also known as a white dwarf.

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More

https://esawebb.org/news/weic2616/

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/lion-nebula-roars-to-life-with-nasas-webb/

https://www.esa.int/ESA\_Multimedia/Images/2026/08/Lion\_Nebula\_roars\_to\_life\_for\_Webb​

Lion Nebula roars to life for Webb