WR 134的朦胧领域
(原标题: The Nebulous Realm of WR 134)
2024-05-31
浏览次数: 21
这张宇宙快照是用窄带滤光片拍摄的，覆盖了天鹅座边界内满月两倍多的视野。它突出了一个环状星云的明亮边缘，通过电离的氢和氧的发光来追踪。在这片广阔的星际云中，这些复杂的发光弧线是沃尔夫-拉叶星WR 134（画面中心附近最亮的恒星）被风吹来的物质外壳的部分。据距离估计，WR 134距离我们约6000光年，使其直径超过100光年。在强大的恒星风中，巨大的沃尔夫-拉叶星以惊人的速度燃烧掉了它们的核燃料，以壮观的超新星爆炸结束了大质量恒星演化的最后阶段。恒星风和最后的超新星以重元素丰富了星际物质，这些重元素将被纳入未来几代恒星中。
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Made with narrowband filters, this cosmic snapshot covers a field of view over twice as wide as the full Moon within the boundaries of the constellation Cygnus. It highlights the bright edge of a ring-like nebula traced by the glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen gas. Embedded in the region's expanse of interstellar clouds, the complex, glowing arcs are sections of shells of material swept up by the wind from Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, brightest star near the center of the frame. Distance estimates put WR 134 about 6,000 light-years away, making the frame over 100 light-years across. Shedding their outer envelopes in powerful stellar winds, massive Wolf-Rayet stars have burned through their nuclear fuel at a prodigious rate and end this final phase of massive star evolution in a spectacular supernova explosion. The stellar winds and final supernova enrich the interstellar material with heavy elements to be incorporated in future generations of stars.
© Xin Long