A Wolf-Rayet star

3D ModelNoAI

Artist’s impression of a class of massive stars (masses > 10 solar masses) known as Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars, named after the astronomers Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet who first classified these objects. WR stars are evolved, very massive stars that have completely lost their outer hydrogen envelope and are now fusing helium or heavier elements into their bright core with luminosities hundreds of thouands to millions of times the luminosity of our Sun. WR stars are rare because they are a relatively short phase in the life of the most massive stars. They are believed to end in dramatic supernova explosions. Most of them are surrounded by a dense expanding nebula made of gas continuously ejected from the star. The nebulae have a vast variaty of morphologies, so that a classification is not possible. The one shown here is reminiscent of the one observed in WR-124, a WR star in the constellation Sagitta. Image credit: NASA/Hubble.