Webb mid-infrared image of the Cat's Head Nebula: glowing pillar of gas and dust shaped like a cat's head.
The Cat's Head Nebula in a mid-infrared view from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, released Oct. 29, 2026. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Oct. 29, 2026 — NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the Cat's Head Nebula in a new mid-infrared image, NASA says.

The nebula's "cat's head" shape was "likely sculpted over time by the intense ultraviolet radiation and winds from massive stars in the Carina Nebula," according to NASA. As that stellar feedback wears away the surrounding gas and dust, "denser material within the feline-shaped pillar resists erosion, at least for now."

NASA credits the image to NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, with image processing by Joseph DePasquale of STScI.

A good one to share with the kids.

Source: NASA image article, Oct. 29, 2026.

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