AssetID: 55909843
Headline: Roar-some! Incredible ‘lion’ captured in deep space
Caption: A bizarre cosmic object resembling the face of a lion has been captured in stunning new detail. The eerie formation appears to have a shaggy mane, tufts of hair and even a bright “button nose”. But the celestial beast is actually the remains of a dying star surrounded by huge clouds of gas and dust. The spectacular Lion Nebula, known as NGC 2392, has been pictured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Its infrared cameras have revealed previously hidden details in the lion-like “face” and mane. And its apparent nose is actually a white dwarf - the scorching-hot remains of a dead star. Radiation from the stellar corpse lights up and reshapes the surrounding material, creating the extraordinary face-like appearance. The wispy “mane” is made from dust, while tufts surrounding the face are dense clumps with comet-like tails. The nebula was created when a relatively low-mass star reached the end of its life and began shedding its outer layers into space. Astronomers expect its gas and dust to continue drifting away until the Lion Nebula completely disperses in around 10,000 years.
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