Oh hey, Webb gave us a ring! 💍 Ready for some more stunning first images from the James Webb Space Telescope? Swipe through to see views of the Southern Ring planetary nebula (aka NGC 3132) and its pair of stars, taken by two of Webb’s instruments: NIRCam [1] and MIRI [2]. These two stars put a new spin on “til death do us part.” The dimmer star, locked in orbit with the younger, brighter star, is dying — expelling gas and dust that Webb sees through in unprecedented detail. In fact, Webb reveals for the first time that the dying star is actually cloaked in dust. The stars – and their layers of light – steal more attention in the NIRCam image, while glowing dust plays the lead in the MIRI image. In thousands of years, these delicate, gaseous layers will dissipate into surrounding space. The Southern Ring nebula is called a planetary nebula. Despite “planet” in the name, which comes from how these objects first appeared to astronomers observing them hundreds of years ago, these are shells of dust and gas shed by dying Sun-like stars. The new details from Webb will transform our understanding of how stars evolve and influence their environments. View and download these new images from Webb at the link in our bio: nasa.gov/webbfirstimages Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI