James Webb telescope peers into 'Eye of God' and finds clues to life's origins — Space photo of the week

Hundreds of gold and orange clouds with feathered trails going down behind them. The small clouds are covering a few scattered, bright stars. .

Quick facts

What it is: The Helix Nebula (also called NGC 7293 and Caldwell 63), a planetary nebula

Where it is: 655 light-years away, in the constellation Aquarius

When it was shared: Jan. 20, 2026

A spectacular new image of the Helix Nebula captured by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveals the death throes of a sunlike star — and perhaps a harbinger of our own solar system's fate.