this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2024
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submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by loops@beehaw.org to c/space@beehaw.org
 

https://esawebb.org/images/WR140a/

[Image Description: The background of this Webb image of star Wolf-Rayet 140 is black. A pair of bright stars dominates the center of the image, with at least 17 pink-orange concentric dust rings emanating from them. Throughout the scene are a range of distant galaxies, the majority of which are very tiny and red, appearing as splotches.]

Each ring was created when the two stars came close together and their stellar winds (streams of gas they blow into space) met, compressing the gas and forming dust. The stars’ orbits bring them together about once every eight years; like the rings of a tree’s trunk, the dust loops mark the passage of time.

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[–] ghostdog@beehaw.org 3 points 9 months ago

this is mesmerizing. thank you for sharing!