Astronomy Picture of the Day
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2014 June 3
WR 104: A Pinwheel Star System
Image Credit & Copyright:
P. Tuthill
(U. Sydney) &
J. Monnier
(U. Michigan),
Keck Obs.,
ARC,
NSF
Explanation:
Might this giant pinwheel one-day destroy us?
Probably not, but investigation of the unusual star system
Wolf-Rayet 104 has turned up an unexpected threat.
The unusual
pinwheel pattern has been found to be created by energetic
winds of gas and dust that are expelled and intertwine as two massive stars orbit each other.
One system component is a
Wolf-Rayet star, a tumultuous orb in the last stage of
evolution before it explodes in a
supernova -- an event possible anytime in the
next million years.
Research into the spiral pattern of the emitted dust, however,
indicates the we are looking nearly straight down the
spin axis of the system -- possibly the same axis along which a powerful jet would emerge were the supernova accompanied by a
gamma-ray burst.
Now the
WR 104 supernova itself will likely be an impressive but harmless spectacle.
Conversely, were Earth really near the center of the powerful GRB beam, even the explosion's 8,000
light year distance
might not be far enough to protect us.
Currently, neither
WR 104 nor GRB beams are understood well enough to know the real level of
danger.
Best space images:
Free APOD Lecture in Paris on June 17
Tomorrow's picture: flash in red and green
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(
MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (
UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman
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