JWST observes planetary building blocks in Butterfly Nebula
by Andrew Sookdeo
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 28, 2025
The James Webb Space Telescope has helped researchers learn new information about how the Earth may have been formed as it gives a deeper look into the Butterfly Nebula.

The telescope saw the creation of tiny planetary building blocks around a dead star, as it saw cosmic dust particles that create planets around young stars forming for the first time.

"For years, scientists have debated how cosmic dust forms in space. But now, with the help of the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, we may finally have a clearer picture," said lead researcher Dr Mikako Matsuura, of Cardiff University."We were able to see both cool gemstones formed in calm, long-lasting zones and fiery grime created in violent, fast-moving parts of space, all within a single object."

The Butterfly Nebula is a white dwarf located 3,400 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius the Scorpion.

A new image taken by the telescope showed in regions such as the torus of the Nebula planet show grains of dust aid in the beginning of the planet building process.

The size of the dust grains seen in the Butterfly Nebula suggests that it has been growing for a while.

The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reported on results of the JWST observations of the Butterfly Nebula on Aug 27.

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