JWST reveals rare triple star system in Apep Nebula

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a striking image of two dying stars in the universe, entwined like cosmic snakes. The Apep Nebula, studied by an Australian team of astronomers, is considered one of the most impressive stellar structures ever observed.

THE VIOLENT END OF DYING STARS

The largest stars, at the end of their lives, violently eject their outer layers before exploding as supernovae, leaving behind only heavy cores. These stars are called Wolf-Rayet stars, named in honor of the astronomers who discovered them.

When the strong stellar winds from these stars collide with the weaker winds of companion stars in binary systems, carbon-rich cold regions form. These environments are the first places in the universe where carbon dust emerges, essentially the birthplaces of the basic building blocks of life.

Normally, these stars eject dust in spiral shapes, creating patterns like watering nozzles in space. However, Apep does not follow this pattern.

TWO EQUALLY POWERFUL STARS CREATE COMPLEX STRUCTURES

According to new JWST data, Apep is not a single star but consists of two equally powerful Wolf-Rayet stars. This binary system forms a wide-angle conical dust structure instead of a classic spiral, resembling a wind sock.

Additionally, a third distant star, discovered in 2018, was uncertain to be part of the system. New data confirmed this star's association with the system.

Images captured by JWST's MIRI infrared camera show hot structures in blue and cold structures in red. Three separate dust shells stand out as slowly cooling outer layers.

A "TRIPLET" STAR SYSTEM

Ryan White, a graduate student at Macquarie University, developed a fast computer model to analyze the stars' orbits.

This model revealed a "bite"-shaped gap in the dust shells, caused by the wind of the third star.

This finding scientifically confirmed that Apep is not only a binary but a triple star system.

COSMIC BEAUTY INTERTWINED WITH SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

Another study led by Yinuo Han from Caltech showed how the dust cools and that the system is farther than previously thought. This suggests the stars are actually much brighter and challenges the earlier "slow wind and fast rotation" hypothesis.

Researchers emphasize that systems like Apep are crucial not only for understanding the death of stars but also for grasping the origin of carbon in the universe—and thus the origin of life.

Scientists say these complex structures formed by the violent death of stars "would even mesmerize Newton," describing the discoveries as extraordinary both scientifically and aesthetically.