Gone with the wind
M1-67 is the youngest wind-nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star, called WR124, in our Galaxy. These Wolf-Rayet stars start their lives with dozens of times the mass of our Sun, but loose most of it through a powerful wind, which is ultimately responsible for the formation of the nebula.
Ten years ago, Hubble Space Telescope observations revealed a wealth of small knots and substructures inside the nebula. The same team, led by Cédric Foellmi (ESO), has now used ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) to watch how these structures have evolved and what they can teach us about stellar winds, their chemistry, and how they mix with the surrounding interstellar medium, before the star will eventually blow everything away in a fiery supernova explosion.
The image is based on FORS1 data obtained by the Paranal Science team with the VLT through 2 wide (B and V) and 3 narrow-band filters.
Oikeudet:ESO
Kuvasta
Tunnistus: | wr124 |
Tyyppi: | Havainto |
Julkaisupäivä: | 3. joulukuuta 2009 23:20 |
Koko: | 3135 x 2679 px |
Kohteesta
Nimi: | WR124 |
Tyyppi: | Milky Way : Nebula Milky Way : Star : Type : Wolf-Rayet |
Etäisyys: | 10000 valovuotta |
Constellation: | Sagitta |
Kategoria: | Nebulae Stars |
Taustakuvat
Koordinaatit
Position (RA): | 19 11 30.92 |
Position (Dec): | 16° 51' 37.95" |
Field of view: | 3.29 x 2.81 arcminutes |
Suuntaus: | Pohjoinen on 0.2° vasen pystysuuntaan nähden |
Värit ja suotimet
Kaista | Teleskooppi |
---|---|
Optinen V | Very Large Telescope FORS1 |
Optinen B | Very Large Telescope FORS1 |