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Kelly Lepo
Kelly Lepo
@KellyLepo@scicomm.xyz  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

I'm glad this is finally out after the government shutdown!

In this new JWST image, we see shells of dust surrounding the Apep system.

As the two Wolf-Rayet stars complete their 190-year orbit, they will get close enough that their winds will collide for about 25 years. These colliding winds produce carbon-rich dust that surrounds the stars in a shell. The shells then get blown outward by the winds.

A third star, a massive O-type star, orbits the pair of Wolf-Rayet stars in a wider orbit and destroys some of the top part of the dust shell. All three of these stars appear as a single point of light in the center of the image.

The result: At least four nested shells of dust, showing the history of the system like tree rings.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-first-to-show-4-dust-shells-spiraling-apep-limits-long-orbit/

#astronomy #space #jwst

Four translucent dust shells expand away from three central stars that appear as a single pinpoint of light. Bright, arcing ridges partially outline the shells. The innermost shell is smallest, like the size of a thumbprint, and brightest. It is yellow and forms a backward lowercase e. A line at 3 o’clock swoops to the bottom-left in an arc that ends at 8 o’clock. A second line at 9 o’clock dips down to start, but then goes straight up, angling around the top. The second shell, about the size of a fist, is orange and has looser arcs. One appears from 4 to 7 o’clock. A brighter orange triangle appears from 10 to 12 o’clock. Its outer edges overlap, forming a rough circle. The third shell extends almost to the edges and is semi-translucent red, with similar arcs and a darker red line that also forms a faint triangle at top left. The widest shell is faintest and at the edges. A semi-transparent blue appears across the scene. A larger foreground star with spikes is at bottom left, and more distant stars and galaxies are strewn across the black expanse of space.
Four translucent dust shells expand away from three central stars that appear as a single pinpoint of light. Bright, arcing ridges partially outline the shells. The innermost shell is smallest, like the size of a thumbprint, and brightest. It is yellow and forms a backward lowercase e. A line at 3 o’clock swoops to the bottom-left in an arc that ends at 8 o’clock. A second line at 9 o’clock dips down to start, but then goes straight up, angling around the top. The second shell, about the size of a fist, is orange and has looser arcs. One appears from 4 to 7 o’clock. A brighter orange triangle appears from 10 to 12 o’clock. Its outer edges overlap, forming a rough circle. The third shell extends almost to the edges and is semi-translucent red, with similar arcs and a darker red line that also forms a faint triangle at top left. The widest shell is faintest and at the edges. A semi-transparent blue appears across the scene. A larger foreground star with spikes is at bottom left, and more distant stars and galaxies are strewn across the black expanse of space.
Four translucent dust shells expand away from three central stars that appear as a single pinpoint of light. Bright, arcing ridges partially outline the shells. The innermost shell is smallest, like the size of a thumbprint, and brightest. It is yellow and forms a backward lowercase e. A line at 3 o’clock swoops to the bottom-left in an arc that ends at 8 o’clock. A second line at 9 o’clock dips down to start, but then goes straight up, angling around the top. The second shell, about the size of a fist, is orange and has looser arcs. One appears from 4 to 7 o’clock. A brighter orange triangle appears from 10 to 12 o’clock. Its outer edges overlap, forming a rough circle. The third shell extends almost to the edges and is semi-translucent red, with similar arcs and a darker red line that also forms a faint triangle at top left. The widest shell is faintest and at the edges. A semi-transparent blue appears across the scene. A larger foreground star with spikes is at bottom left, and more distant stars and galaxies are strewn across the black expanse of space.
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Kelly Lepo
Kelly Lepo
@KellyLepo@scicomm.xyz replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

A visualization of the Apep system, showing the nested shells of carbon-rich dust produced by the colliding winds of a Wolf-Rayet binary.

https://youtu.be/fITdexBNfkQ?si=mdEixVAcvkUpFI3W

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