- An obscure constellation introduced by the Frenchman Nicolas Louis de Lacaille after his trip to the Cape of Good Hope to observe the southern stars in 1751–52, depicting a chemist’s furnace used for distillation. It lies tucked into a bend in the river Eridanus.
- NASA’s Webb Captures Dying Star’s Final ‘Performance’ in Fine Detail (webbtelescope.org)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has cast the Southern Ring Nebula in an entirely new light. By observing the nebula in mid-infrared wavelengths, Webb has unveiled the second, dusty star at the center of the nebula in far more detail. The star closely orbits its companion as it periodically ejects layers of gas and dust. Together, the swirling duo have created a fantastic landscape of asymmetrical shells. Webb’s near-infrared light image hones in on “spotlights” from the stars, where light travels through holes in the nebula’s dusty ejections.