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> A Wolf-Rayet star in NGC 2359
A Wolf-Rayet star in NGC 2359
author: Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images/Novapix
reference: a-neb23-59003
Image Size 300 DPI: 51 * 40 cm
NGC 2359 is the nebula produced by a single, extremely hot star HD 56925. This is one of the rare Wolf-Rayet stars, whose intrinsic brilliance is combined with high rates of mass loss from its surface. This material is ejected from the star with velocities which approach 2000 kilometers per second. This violent activity quickly reduces the mass of the star which in turn reduces the instability. The rapidly-moving ejected material interacts with the gas and dust around the star producing the cosmic bubble seen here. Such stars are unusual, largely because extreme behaviour of this kind cannot be sustained for long. This particular example is spectacular because it happens to inhabit a part of our Galaxy rich in interstellar gas.
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