Eye on the sky

Hubble reveals the spectacular demise of the ‘Jewel Bug’ Nebula

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, 18 JUNE 2020

The ‘Jewel Bug’, the ‘Gummy Bear’ and the ‘Magic Carpet’… planetary nebula NGC 7027’s various monikers over the years all hint at its intriguingly idiosyncratic shape, revealed more spectacularly than ever before in this new image.

Taken for the first time with the full range of Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, spanning from near-ultraviolet to nearinfrared light, it shows an incredibly complex and rapidly evolving picture. Fast stellar winds slam into slowly expanding dense clouds of dust, creating bubble-like cavities and jets. Scientists suspect the eccentric patterns point not to one but two dying stars at its centre. They may have been placidly interacting and throwing out material for thousands of years but are now violently collapsing, or it could be that a red giant star abruptly swallowed its smaller stellar companion. Whatever the explanation, it has reached a rapid, violent – and beautiful – end game.