US EditionWebb Examines 'Exposed Cranium' Nebula
Webb's near- and mid-infrared images reveal the nebula's brain-like structure and vertical dark lane, capturing the star's final evolutionary phases, NASA and partners reported.
- On February 25, 2026, the James Webb Space Telescope released new near- and mid-infrared images of Nebula PMR 1, highlighting a vertical dark lane dividing its brain-like hemispheres.
- Documenting a star's final stages, Webb shows PMR 1 is created by a star near the end of its fuel-burning life in an international program led by NASA with ESA and CSA.
- NIRCam's portrait shows more stars and background galaxies while MIRI reveals glowing cosmic dust, distinct outer shell of gas, and inner cloud with gas ejection signs, with image credits to Joseph DePasquale and partners.
- Uncertainty about the star's mass means scientists cannot predict if the central star will explode as a supernova or become a white dwarf.
- Compared with its predecessor, Spitzer, the retired Spitzer Space Telescope first captured PMR 1 in infrared over a decade ago, and Spitzer scientists coined the `Exposed Cranium` nickname while Webb's superior resolution positions it as the premier observatory probing stellar evolution and cosmic structures.
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27 Articles
Webb's Latest Photos Are Among its Most Incredible Yet
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured plenty of incredible, jaw-dropping photos since its first five images were published in July 2022. But few have been quite as spectacular and otherworldly as Webb's latest shots of Nebula PMR 1, a rarely-studied nebula nicknamed the "Exposed Cranium."
Webb examines 'Exposed Cranium' nebula
Two heads are better than one in the latest images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which reveal new detail in a mysterious, little-studied nebula surrounding a dying star. Nebula PMR 1 is a cloud of gas and dust that bears an uncanny resemblance to a brain in a transparent skull, inspiring its nickname, the "Exposed Cranium" nebula. Webb captured its unusual features in both near- and mid-infrared light.
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