Webb Zooms In on Helix Nebula, Unveiling Fiery Pillars Around a Dying Star

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam zooms in on the Helix Nebula (the “Eye of God”), revealing fiery pillars, comet-like knots, and layered gas shed by a dying star colliding with cooler material outward. The high‑resolution view shows hot ionized gas near the center transitioning to cooler hydrogen-rich gas farther out, illustrating how such nebulae recycle stellar material to form new stars and planets and offering a glimpse of the Sun’s distant fate about 650 light-years away in Aquarius.