Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  27 Cyg  ·  28 Cyg  ·  Crescent Nebula  ·  NGC 6883  ·  NGC 6888  ·  The star b1 Cyg  ·  The star b2 Cyg
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A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack, Christian Koll
A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack
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A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack, Christian Koll
A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack
Powered byPixInsight

A Wolf-Rayet Double Pack

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Description

Wolf-Rayet stars are a separate group of super massive O type stars with a mass in excess of 25 solar masses.
During their Wolf-Rayet phase, which lasts 200,000 to 500,000 years, they blast away their entire outer hydrogen shell, exposing their helium fusion core.
This is why these stars show an intense helium emission line with the absence of almost any hydrogen emission. Further on the path to their final end in a supernova, they continue to repel the layers of their stellar core, creating unique nebulae.

Shown in the left half of this picture is the Crescent Nebula NGC 6888 with its star WR136 in the center.
WR134 and its peculiar nebula are shown to the very right.
At the lower edge of the frame the Soap Bubble nebula - a planetary nebula discovered by an amateur astronomer in 2007 - can be seen.

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