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Wolf-Rayet stars are known to be efficient dust producers, and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope shows this to great effect. Cooler cosmic dust glows at the longer mid-infrared wavelengths, displaying the structure of WR 124?s nebula. The nebula is made of material cast off from the aging star in random ejections, and from dust produced in the ensuing turbulence. This brilliant stage of mass loss precedes the star?s eventual supernova, when nuclear fusion in its core stops and the pressure of gravity causes it to collapse in on itself, and then explode. As MIRI demonstrates here, Webb will help astronomers to explore questions that were previously only left to theory about how much dust stars like this create before exploding in a supernova, and how much of that dust is large enough to survive the blast and go on to serve as building blocks of future stars and planets.

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Six of the most amazing space pictures from 2023

This year saw an extraordinary number of awe-inspiring images of objects in space, thanks in part to the James Webb Space Telescope. Here are the ones that dazzled us most and why they are important

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High resolution images presents creating planets of the solar system. This image elements furnished by NASA.

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This mathematical trick can help you imagine space-time

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Why I've been somewhat obsessed with space-time this year

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The best new science fiction books of December 2023

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The best new science fiction books of December 2023

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Key molecule for life may have formed on interstellar ice

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Majestic photo shows China's Tiangong space station in all its glory

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Graeme Whipps/Shutterstock (4301807b) Pic shows the Geminid meteor shower over Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire on Sunday evening Dec 14th. A Scottish photographer has managed to get some pictures of the Geminid meteor shower on its FINAL night above the UK. Amateur astronomer Graeme Whipps picked up 13 meteors on camera in the dramatic display above Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire last night (Sun).

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How to spot this year's Geminid meteor shower

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Space flight may increase erectile dysfunction among astronauts

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Artist's impression of WASP-107b and its parent star

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Fluffy exoplanet blasted by its sun has clouds that rain sand

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An artist's impression of three merging black holes

Physics

Why the quantum universe is weirder than you think

The quantum realm is full of strange effects, but there’s a reason why everything looks normal from our point of view, writes physicist Sebastian Deffner

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Astronomers have found the most distant black hole ever confirmed

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Distant Milky Way-like galaxy is older than we thought possible

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Searching for life on Mars isn’t worth the risk to Earth

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Walking on the moon: candid photos from astronaut Tim Peake’s new book

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