IMAGE:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, NASA-JPL, Caltech
Shells of cosmic dust created by the interaction of binary stars appear like tree rings around Wolf-Rayet 140. The remarkable regularity of the shells’ spacing indicates that they form like clockwork during the stars’ eight-year orbit cycle, when the two members of the binary make their closest approach to one another. In this image, blue, green, and red were assigned to Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) data at 7.7, 15, and 21 microns (F770W, F1500W, and F2100W filters, respectively).