Wolf-Rayet stars are among the many most huge, luminous and tough to detect. They symbolize a really temporary transition stage within the life cycles of huge stars as their nuclear gasoline is exhausted and their outer layers are blown off to kind enormous halos of fuel and dirt. Final 12 months, in one of many first science observations made by the James Webb Area Telescope, Wolf-Rayet 124 was imaged, revealing a spectacular infrared tapestry of clumpy fuel and dirt nebulae surrounding the central core. The star, 15,000 gentle years away within the constellation Sagitta, is 30 instances extra huge than the Solar and has blown off 10 photo voltaic lots of fabric spanning some 10 gentle years. Webb’s infrared observations reveal never-before-seen options which will make clear the dimensions of the mud grains and whether or not they may survive an eventual supernova blast to seed surrounding house with the uncooked supplies for an additional era of stars and planets.
JWST captures rare glimpse of Wolf-Rayet star on the way to death by supernova
