Wolf Rayet Star 124: Stellar Wind Machine
Explanation:
Some stars explode in slow motion.
Rare, massive
Wolf-Rayet stars
are so tumultuous and hot that they are slowly disintegrating right before our telescopes.
Glowing gas globs each typically over 30 times more massive than
the Earth are being expelled by violent
stellar winds.
Wolf-Rayet star WR 124, visible near the
featured image center spanning six
light years across,
is thus creating the surrounding nebula known as
M1-67.
Details of why
this star has been slowly blowing itself
apart over the past 20,000 years remains a topic of research.
WR 124
lies 15,000 light-years away towards the
constellation of the Arrow
(
Sagitta).
The fate of any given
Wolf-Rayet star
likely depends on how massive it is,
but many are thought to end their lives with spectacular explosions such as
supernovas or
gamma-ray bursts.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
