The Cardiff University team used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302), revealing the complex cosmic dust structure in its core region. The relevant paper was published on August 26th in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, providing important references for studying the origins of Earth and other rocky planets. The Butterfly Nebula is located in Scorpio, approximately 3400 light-years away from Earth. It belongs to the "Bipolar Nebula", which means it has two "gas leaves" that unfold in opposite directions, forming the "wings" of a butterfly; And a dense circular dust belt in the middle forms the "body" of the butterfly. In fact, this circular dense dust belt covers the central star of the nebula, the ancient core left behind by a sun like star, which provides energy for the nebula to emit light. The star has a temperature of up to 220000 Kelvin and is one of the hottest known central stars in planetary nebulae in the Milky Way galaxy. The latest data indicates that this circular dust belt is composed of crystalline silicates (such as quartz) and irregularly shaped dust particles. The size of these dust particles is about one millionth of a meter, which is quite large by the standards of cosmic dust, indicating that they have undergone a long growth process. The team also discovered that the Butterfly Nebula contains both cold crystals formed in relatively calm environments and amorphous dust formed in intense environments, providing key evidence for scientists to understand how planetary basic materials aggregate. This observation also discovered carbon based polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which may be related to the chemical composition of life, opening a new window for the study of planets and the origin of life. (New Society)