James Webb telescope captures cat-shaped nebula in new image

On October 29, 2026, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope released a mid-infrared image of the Cat's Head Nebula, a feature in the Carina Nebula that resembles a feline silhouette.

The nebula's distinctive shape is thought to have been sculpted over time by intense ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from massive stars in the Carina Nebula. It lies about 7,500 light-years from Earth.

A visible-light image from Hubble shows a brown pillar of dust against a hazy, rainbow-tinted background. JWST's near- and mid-infrared views show a red "eye" that experts suggest could be a young star trapped in the dust.

The image is credited to NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute, with image processing by Joseph DePasquale of STScI.