Wolf Rayet 124
Explanation:
Driven by powerful stellar winds,
expanding shrouds of gas and dust
frame
hot, luminous star Wolf-Rayet 124 in
this
sharp infrared view.
The eye-catching
6-spike star
pattern is characteristic of
stellar images made with the 18 hexagonal mirrors of the
James Webb Space Telescope.
About 15,000 light-years distant toward the pointed northern
constellation Sagitta,
WR 124 has
over 30 times the mass of the Sun.
Produced in a brief and rarely spotted
phase of
massive star
evolution
in the Milky Way, this star's turbulent nebula is nearly 6 light-years
across.
It heralds
WR
124's impending stellar death
in a supernova explosion.
Formed in the expanding nebula, dusty interstellar debris that survives
the supernova
will influence
the formation of future generations of stars.
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.
