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Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA’s Webb

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August 10, 2026 10:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2026-127
JWST’s Near Infrared Camera and Mid Infrared Instrument combined image of planetary nebula NGC 2392, the Lion Nebula, against the black background of space. The nebula is in the center, circular in shape, and looks like a male lion’s head. In the center is a small, pinkish-white circle with eight-point diffraction spikes, a white dwarf star. Surrounding the star are purple-pink cavernous bubbles and shell-like rings. The bubbles and shells collectively form an oval with two small, wide arcs near the top, reminiscent of a lion’s face and its ears. What appears to be extended outward from the lion’s face is a thick ring of purple-blue material. The area closest to the lion’s face looks cloudy, while the edges of the mane look like there are clumps of dust with comet-like tails and strands. In the background are distant galaxies and stars. Some galaxies are small yellow and orange points of light and others have spiral structures.

Summary

It’s the circle of life and it moves us all — even stars.

The James Webb Space Telescope has gazed across the open “plains” of space to capture a snapshot of NGC 2392, also known as the Lion Nebula. This feline-shaped planetary nebula is the “mane” event, at least temporarily. After several thousand years in the making, it’s finally roaring to life before it will eventually disperse in approximately 10,000 years. In infrared light, Webb reveals complex structures of gas and dust that are illuminated by and migrating away from the source that is powering it all: the dying central star.

Full Article

Observing across the starry “plains” of space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken new images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula. NASA’s 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, with both the NIRCam (Near ...

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News releases highlighting the discoveries of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope are produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, under NASA Contract NAS5-03127. News release content is developed by the News Team in STScI’s Office of Public Outreach.

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