Scientists hope that James Webb will study more Wolf-Rayet stars, as it provides a suitable opportunity to study the newly emerging solar systems.
An international team of researchers has managed, through the James Webb Space Telescope, to discover one of the strangest celestial shapes to date, in which 17 dust rings revolve around a pair of stars located at a distance of about 5,000 light-years from Earth, making what looks like a handprint.
To take a picture of this pair of stars, which is known as "Wolf-Rayet 140", the team used a special camera on James Webb called " MIRI " that can measure infrared radiation in the medium ranges.
Weirdest episodes
Through this fine range, the camera is able to capture images of relatively cool objects, such as faintly visible comets and Kuiper belt objects, and dust rings around the star of interest.
According to the study published by the team in the journal Nature Astronomy, the reason for the formation of these rings is that the two stars are constantly approaching each other, and when the stellar winds from each of them converge, they press on each other, causing those rings to be made.
The researchers say that these rings can be used to indicate the time that has elapsed in the approach of the two stars to each other, as each ring consists of 8 years.
Wolf-Wright stars
Massive stars (up to 25 times the mass of the Sun) in their advanced age are known as Wolf-Rayet stars . During that period, these stars lose their mass at a very high rate in the form of strong winds in the form of waves of dust loaded with all kinds of elements that make up the star itself.
Given that the average temperature of stars of this type exceeds 20 thousand degrees Celsius, they have a luminosity of up to a million times that of the sun, and therefore it is believed that the strong winds emanating from these bodies are usually driven by intense radiation pressure, as they eject about 10 whole solar masses. in a million years. It is estimated that about half of the "Wolf-Rayet" stars are in binary systems such as "Wolf-Rayet 140".
The origins of the planets
According to a press release issued by the James Webb Telescope platform on October 12, the new study provides the best evidence to date that “Wolf-Rayet” stars produce dust particles rich in carbon, among other elements.
In addition, the study indicates that dust rings rich in carbon particles can survive in a harsh environment such as that surrounding the "Wolf-Rayet 140" duo, which provides the possibility for the formation of new planets in the future. As new planets need a number of elements, Primarily carbon, to form.
Precisely for this reason, scientists hope that James Webb will study more stars of the type "Wolf-Rayet", because it provides a suitable opportunity to study the newly emerging solar groups.
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