INBOX ASTRONOMY
NASAâs Webb Telescope Captures Rarely Seen Prelude to Supernova
Release date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023 2:00:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Wolf-Rayet 124: A Star in Transition
Wolf-Rayet stars are a rare prelude to the famous final act of massive stars: the supernova. In one of its first observations, NASAâs James Webb Space Telescope captured the Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 in unprecedented detail. A distinctive halo of gas and dust frames the star and glows in the infrared light detected by Webb, displaying knotty structure and a history of episodic ejections. Despite being the scene of an impending stellar âdeath,â astronomers also look to Wolf-Rayet stars for insight into new beginnings. Cosmic dust is forming in the turbulent nebulas surrounding these types of stars, which is composed of the heavy-element building blocks of the modern universe, including life on Earth.
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