Webb telescope captures 'cosmic' fingerprint (1/2)

Image released on Oct. 12, 2022 shows dust rings formed by two giant starts, resembling a fingerprint captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. (Photo/NASA)

The formation was created by the interaction of two giant stars, known collectively as the Wolf-Rayet 140 binary, more than 5,000 light years from Earth. The rings are created every eight years when the stars pass close to each other in their elongated orbit.

This graphic shows the relative size of the Sun, upper left, compared to the two stars in the system known as Wolf-Rayet 140. The O-type star is roughly 30 times the mass of the Sun, while its companion is about 10 times the mass of the Sun. (Photo/NASA)