I rather like this APOD, text as well as image.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230717.html

Shells and Arcs around Star CW Leonis

What’s happening around this star? No one is sure. CW Leonis is the closest carbon star, a star that appears orange because of atmospheric carbon dispersed from interior nuclear fusion. But CW Leonis also appears engulfed in a gaseous carbon-rich nebula. What causes the nebula’s complexity is unknown, but its geometry of shells and arcs are surely intriguing. The low surface gravity of carbon stars enhances their ability to expel carbon and carbon compounds into space. Humans and all Earth-based life are carbon-based, and at least some of our carbon was likely once circulating in the atmospheres of near-death stars like carbon stars.

Note from mollwollfumble. I particularly like the words “was likely”. There is something of a furious scientific debate in some circles about what percentage of our carbon came from carbon stars like this and what percentage came from supernovas.

Slightly off topic, but a paper has appeared in ArXiv about the James Webb’s observations of supernova SN1987A. “Supernova (SN) 1987A is the nearest supernova in 400 years”.

I’ve been waiting for this, wanting to see it ASAP.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2307.06692.pdf

But – JWST images are not nearly as pretty (or as detailed) as the old Hubble images. I hate to think why?

SN 1987A from Hubble.

The following are images of SN 1987A from James Webb.

A direct comparison of Hubble and James Webb is below. The contour lines are from the Hubble image. The blurred colour is from the James Webb telescope. This does not speak well of the resolution of the James Webb image.

mollwollfumble said:

Slightly off topic, but a paper has appeared in ArXiv about the James Webb’s observations of supernova SN1987A. “Supernova (SN) 1987A is the nearest supernova in 400 years”.

I’ve been waiting for this, wanting to see it ASAP.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2307.06692.pdf

But – JWST images are not nearly as pretty (or as detailed) as the old Hubble images. I hate to think why?

SN 1987A from Hubble.

The following are images of SN 1987A from James Webb.

A direct comparison of Hubble and James Webb is below. The contour lines are from the Hubble image. The blurred colour is from the James Webb telescope. This does not speak well of the resolution of the James Webb image.

Perhaps this is the free version and you have to pay for the proper version