NASA Shares Stunning Image Of Cosmic "Brain" Surrounding Dying Star

Space scientists have captured stunning images of a giant cosmic "brain." The latest pictures from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have revealed new details in a mysterious nebula surrounding a dying star, reported NYPost.

NASA's Webb Mission team reported on Wednesday, February 25, that Nebula PMR 1 is a cloud of gas and dust that resembles a brain inside a transparent skull, which is why it's nicknamed the "Exposed Cranium" nebula.

This nebula was first observed in infrared light by NASA's retired Spitzer Space Telescope more than a decade ago. Webb's advanced instruments now reveal such detail that its brain-like shape becomes even more distinct.

Researchers reported that this nebula is being formed by a star in the final stages of its life, burning its remaining fuel.

NASA said that in the final stages of life, stars expel their outer layers. This is a rapid process in cosmic time. Webb captured a specific moment in this star's collapse.

The future of a star depends on its mass. If it is large enough, it can explode as a supernova. A small, Sun-like star will gradually lose its layers, leaving only a dense nucleus, becoming a white dwarf and slowly cooling over billions of years.