Dry ice detected in a planetary nebula for the first time

An international team of astronomers has employed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe a complex planetary nebula known as NGC 6302. The observations, detailed in a paper published Feb. 25 on the arXiv pre-print server, resulted in the discovery of dry (carbon dioxide) ice in this nebula. This is the first time dry ice has been detected in a planetary nebula.