Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 March 8
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                  Wolf-Rayet Star 124: Stellar Wind Machine
    Image Credit: [3]Hubble Legacy Archive, [4]NASA, [5]ESA; Processing &
                         [6]License: [7]Judy Schmidt

   Explanation: Some stars explode in slow motion. Rare, massive
   [8]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 [9]the Earth are being
   expelled by violent [10]stellar winds. [11]Wolf-Rayet star WR 124,
   visible near the [12]featured image center spanning six [13]light years
   across, is thus creating the surrounding nebula known as [14]M1-67.
   Details of why [15]this star has been slowly blowing itself apart over
   the past 20,000 years remains a topic of research. [16]WR 124 lies
   15,000 light-years away towards the [17]constellation of the Arrow
   ([18]Sagitta). The fate of any given [19]Wolf-Rayet star likely depends
   on how massive it is, but many are thought to end their lives with
   spectacular explosions such as [20]supernovas or [21]gamma-ray bursts.

                   Tomorrow's picture: light after sunset
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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [37]Specific rights apply.
              [38]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC
                           & [42]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2003/wr124_hubbleschmidt_1289.jpg
   3. https://hla.stsci.edu/
   4. https://www.nasa.gov/
   5. https://www.esa.int/
   6. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
   7. https://geckzilla.com/
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf-Rayet_star
   9. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wolf–Rayet_stars
  12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/14248502065/
  13. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html
  14. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985A&A...145L..13V/abstract
  15. https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/a-massive-violent-star-blooms
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_124
  17. http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html
  18. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sge/
  19. http://www.universetoday.com/24736/wolf-rayet-star/
  20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aysiMbgml5g
  21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpuVnqYIgbo
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200307.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200308
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200309.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  42. http://www.mtu.edu/