August 26, 1996
On the day you were born, another consciousness opened inside the cosmos and began taking notes.
A Wolf-Rayet Star Bubble
Birthday · August 26, 1996
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published August 26, 1996. Credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
What's a Wolf-Rayet star, and how did it create that spherical bubble and sweeping arc? A Wolf-Rayet star is a star that originated with a mass over 40 times that of our Sun. An extremely hot, luminous star, it has since expelled shells of material through its strong stellar wind which could account for the bubble shaped nebula that surrounds it. But astronomers are unsure how the central Wolf-Rayet created both the bubble and the arc seen above, and even whether it acted alone in doing so. Together, this bubble and the arc are known as NGC 2359.
Image credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board