Science / Space

"Spider star" mystery solved

13:25 pm on 13 October 2022

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Scientists believe they have solved the mystery of a  star resembling a spider web captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.

A member of the James Webb Space Telescope Science Working Group, described the image as "bonkers".

The image even sparked speculation online that it might be evidence of an alien mega-structure light-years across.

To explain what the strange phenomenon is actually likely to be, Professor Peter Tuthill from the University of Sydney's Institute for Astronomy joins Jesse.

Image of WR140 binary taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with the puzzling concentric rings Photo: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/JPL-Caltech