In HUbble vs Webb pictures we see the dying start picture. Why after 24 years it is still is a dying explosion scene. Shouldn’t be an instant?

Question

NASA released the latest pictures from Webb. You can see a link to a dying start here:
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-033?Collection=First%20Images

I am not sure, how it is possible that after 24 years, it seems the dying star explosion is still in a very similar size and shape. Can someone please what exactly we are observing in this picture.

In: 2

Answer 1

The link you posted explains it:

>Since planetary nebulae exist for tens of thousands of years, observing the nebula is like watching a movie in exceptionally slow motion. […] In thousands of years, these delicate layers of gas and dust will dissipate into surrounding space.

Relative to the lifetime of a star, thousands of years *are* an instant.

>Each shell represents an episode where the fainter star lost some of its mass.

And from wikipedia:

>This hot central star of about 100,000 K has now blown off its outer layers

So it’s blowing off bit by bit, like dying breaths. Over time. 24 years is nothing to that timescale.