Mysterious 'iron bar' discovery in space may reveal Earth's future

Mysterious 'iron bar' discovery in space may reveal Earth's future

Eleri Griffiths - BBC Wales

Fri, January 16, 2026 at 2:28 PM UTC

2 min read

The Ring Nebula in space showing the "red iron bar" in a line across the middle of it. — The large bar‑shaped cloud of iron atoms was found inside the Ring Nebula [University College London]

Scientists have discovered a large bar‑shaped cloud of iron atoms in space that could offer clues about the future of Earth.

The structure, which was found inside the Ring Nebula - a famous, colourful cloud formed when a dying sun-like star released its outer layers - was roughly 500 times wider than Pluto's orbit and sits 2,283 light‑years away.

Astronomers from Cardiff University, as well as University College London, detected the iron bar using a new telescope instrument called the WHT Enhanced Area Velocity Explorer (Weave).

Scientists observing it say its origin is unclear, but their theories about how it formed suggest it could hint at the Earth's future.

The first theory is the cloud may have formed during the nebula's creation, as the parent star collapsed.

Alternatively, experts believe it could be space plasma, left behind from a rocky planet that was destroyed as the star expanded. If true, it could offer a preview of Earth's future as the sun - Earth's parent star - expels its outer layers in a similar way, engulfing Earth, in a few billion years.

The team said it was planning further observations to unravel precisely what the iron bar was, where it came from, and what it could tell them.

Lead author Dr Roger Wesson, based jointly at Cardiff University and UCL, said although the Ring Nebula had been studied using many different telescopes and instruments, Weave had allowed them "to observe it in a new way, providing so much more detail than before".

He said: "By obtaining a spectrum continuously across the whole nebula, we can create images of the nebula at any wavelength and determine its chemical composition at any position.

"When we processed the data and scrolled through the images, one thing popped out as clear as anything – this previously unknown 'bar' of ionized iron atoms, in the middle of the familiar and iconic ring."

The outside of the main Cardiff University building with a pathway leading up to the entrance seen at the bottom. — Cardiff University scientists were among those involved in the research [Colin Smith/Geograph]

Co-author Prof Janet Drew added: "We definitely need to know more – particularly whether any other chemical elements co-exist with the newly-detected iron, as this would probably tell us the right class of model to pursue."

Weave is set to carry out eight surveys over the next five years, targeting everything from nearby white dwarfs - a type of dead star - to very distant galaxies.

Wesson added: "It would be very surprising if the iron bar in the Ring is unique.

"So hopefully, as we observe and analyse more nebulae created in the same way, we will discover more examples of this phenomenon, which will help us to understand where the iron comes from."

Mysterious 'iron bar' discovery in space may reveal Earth's future

Mysterious 'iron bar' discovery in space may reveal Earth's future

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