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The James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Mayet star WR124 in the middle of a cloud of cosmic dust just before it goes supernova. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team)

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured a dazzling image of a star about to go supernova in a massive explosion.

The picture, released by NASA on Tuesday (March 14), shows the star WR 124 in the middle of a spectacular cosmic cloud. As it goes supernova, the star, which is about 30 solar masses, is expelling its outer layers; so far, it has ejected more than 10 solar masses’ worth of material. This is a rarely seen phenomenon in some stars’ life cycle called the Wolf-Rayet (WR) phase.

“Massive stars race through their life cycles, and only some of them go through a brief Wolf-Rayet phase before going supernova, making Webb’s detailed observations of this rare phase valuable to astronomers,” NASA officials wrote in a description of the images (opens in new tab) .

The gigantic star resides 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta.

TheJWST first snapped a photo of WR 124 in June 2022, just after it became operational.The star’s luminous halo is captured in unprecedented detail thanks to the telescope’s ability to detect the infrared glow of gas as it cools down to form cosmic dust.

Related: James Webb Telescope spots galaxies from the dawn of time that are so massive they ‘shouldn’t exist’ 

The cloud could survive the star’s supernova collapse and contribute to the universe’s “dust budget,” NASA officials said. “Dust is integral to the workings of the universe,” they wrote. “It shelters forming stars, gathers together to help form planets and serves as a platform for molecules to form and clump together — including the building blocks of life on Earth.” 

The universe currently contains more dust than astronomers can explain. “The universe is operating with a dust surplus budget,” NASA officials wrote in the image description. But JWST observations like this one could shed light on the mysterious origin of all this dust.

“Before Webb, dust-loving astronomers simply did not have enough detailed information to explore questions of dust production in environments like WR 124, and whether the dust grains were large and bountiful enough to survive the supernova and become a significant contribution to the overall dust budget,” they wrote. “Now those questions can be investigated with real data.”RELATED STORIES—Monster black hole may have killed this galaxy’s star-forming power, James Webb Telescope reveals

—The James Webb Telescope detected the coldest ice in the known universe – and it contains the building blocks of life

—25 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images 

On Oct. 13, 2022, astronomers discovered an early-warning system to watch supernova explosions as they unfold. As seen on the image of WR 124, a thick cocoon of circumstellar dust builds around stars in the last few months before they blow up. In the aftermath of a supernova event, all that is left of a star is a dense core, which can turn into a neutron star. 

Also last year, scientists discovered a dead neutron star on a collision path with a massive star, which they think is doomed to explode in a fiery kilonova — an explosion caused by two stellar corpses zooming into each other. 

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Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays’ rally

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Springer out after 3rd base hop, ending Jays' rally

TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer skipped into third base on a key RBI hit by teammate Alejandro Kirk, and hopped right into an inning-ending out in the fifth on Sunday against the Athletics.

Springer was called out following a replay review after Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann alertly kept his glove on the Blue Jays right fielder while Springer hopped up and down on third base.

Springer, who had reached on an RBI single that opened the scoring for Toronto, was celebrating Kirk’s double that cut the deficit to 3-2.

The out call meant Toronto slugger Addison Barger didn’t get to bat with runners at second and third.

Schuemann had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, taking over for Miguel Andujar.

The Athletics had lost five straight and 16 of 17 entering Sunday.

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Ukraine’s drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

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Ukraine's drone attack in Russia shows Kyiv felt it had nothing to lose

An audacious Ukrainian drone attack against multiple airbases across Russia is a humiliating security breach for Vladimir Putin that will doubtless trigger a furious response.

Pro-Kremlin bloggers have described the drone assault – which Ukrainian security sources said hit more than 40 Russian warplanes – as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” in reference to the Japanese attack against the US in 1941 that prompted Washington to enter the Second World War.

Ukraine war latest: Russia accuses Kyiv of ‘terrorist attack’

The Ukrainian operation – which used small drones smuggled into Russia, hidden in mobile sheds and launched off the back of trucks – also demonstrated how technology and imagination have transformed the battlefield, enabling Ukraine to seriously hurt its far more powerful opponent.

Moscow will have to retaliate, with speculation already appearing online about whether President Putin will again threaten the use of nuclear weapons.

“We hope that the response will be the same as the US response to the attack on their Pearl Harbor or even harsher,” military blogger Roman Alekhin wrote on his Telegram channel.

Codenamed ‘Spider’s Web’, the mission on Sunday was the culmination of one and a half years of planning, according to a security source.

More on Russia

In that time, Ukraine’s secret service smuggled first-person view (FPV) drones into Russia, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Flat-pack, garden-office style sheds were also secretly transported into the country.

The drones were hidden in truck containers and the tops remotely lifted for the drones to be flown out to attack. Pic: SBU Security Service
Image:
The drones were hidden in truck containers. Pic: SBU Security Service

The oblong sheds were then built and drones were hidden inside, before the containers were put on the back of trucks and driven to within range of their respective targets.

At a chosen time, doors on the roofs of the huts were opened remotely and the drones were flown out. Each was armed with a bomb that was flown into the airfields, with videos released by the security service that purportedly showed them blasting into Russian aircraft.

These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service
Image:
These drones were used to destroy Russian bomber aircraft. Pic: SBU Security Service

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Among the targets were Tu-95 and Tu-22 bomber aircraft that can launch cruise missiles, according to the Ukrainian side. An A-50 airborne early warning aircraft was also allegedly hit. This is a valuable platform that is used to command and control operations.

The use of such simple technology to destroy multi-million-pound aircraft will be watched with concern by governments around the world.

Suddenly, every single military base, airfield and warship will appear that little bit more vulnerable if any truck nearby could be loaded with killer drones.

Read more:
Russia investigates bridge collapses
What new Stalin statue says about Putin’s regime

The most immediate focus, though, will be on how Mr Putin responds.

Previous attacks by Ukraine inside Russia have triggered retaliatory strikes and increasingly threatening rhetoric from the Kremlin.

But this latest operation is one of the biggest and most significant, and comes on the eve of a new round of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv that are meant to take place in Turkey. It is not clear if that will still happen.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for the two sides to make peace but Russia has only escalated its war.

Ukraine clearly felt it had nothing to lose but to also go on the attack.

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Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

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Phils moving Walker to relief in bullpen shakeup

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies made moves to restructure their bullpen Sunday, removing Taijuan Walker from the rotation and recalling right-handed reliever Seth Johnson before their series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Mick Abel will take Walker’s place in the starting rotation Thursday in Toronto. Reliever Jose Ruiz was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Johnson.

“I think Tai’s got a chance to make us a lot better coming out of the ‘pen,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Walker has made 10 appearances, including eight starts and two long relief appearances, with a 2-4 record and 3.53 ERA in 43⅓ innings. Thomson will use Walker in one-inning roles.

The 32-year-old Walker has been primarily a starter throughout his 13-year career. He is in the third year of a $72 million, four-year contract.

Abel made his major league debut on May 18, throwing six scoreless innings. The 23-year-old was the No. 15 pick in the 2020 amateur draft.

Johnson, 26, is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, transitioning from the starting rotation to a relief role. He made one appearance for the Phillies last year, allowing nine earned runs in 2⅓ innings on Sept. 8 against Miami.

Johnson was acquired by the Phillies from Baltimore on July 30, 2024, in a trade for Gregory Soto.

Ruiz had an 8.16 ERA in 14⅓ innings this season, including allowing five runs in one inning of Saturday’s 17-7 loss to the Brewers. The 30-year-old right-hander had a 5-1 record and 3.71 ERA in 52 appearances in 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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