Cresent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula that stretches about 25 lightyears across and is located about 5,000 lightyears away from Earth.
Created by its central Wolf-Rayet star, these stars are rare, massive stars in a late evolutionary phase, characterized by extreme stellar winds and rapid mass loss. With surface temperatures ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 Kelvin, they are among the hottest stars in the universe.
WR stars have shed their outer hydrogen layers, exposing their helium-burning cores, often showing strong emission lines of helium, carbon, and nitrogen.
These stars are highly luminous, up to millions of times brighter than the Sun. Their explosive mass loss plays a crucial role in enriching the interstellar medium and they are often precursors to supernovae or even black hole formation.
Cresent Nebula
The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula that stretches about 25 lightyears across and is located about 5,000 lightyears away from Earth.
Created by its central Wolf-Rayet star, these stars are rare, massive stars in a late evolutionary phase, characterized by extreme stellar winds and rapid mass loss. With surface temperatures ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 Kelvin, they are among the hottest stars in the universe.
WR stars have shed their outer hydrogen layers, exposing their helium-burning cores, often showing strong emission lines of helium, carbon, and nitrogen.
These stars are highly luminous, up to millions of times brighter than the Sun. Their explosive mass loss plays a crucial role in enriching the interstellar medium and they are often precursors to supernovae or even black hole formation.