Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2022 October 13
    [2]The featured image shows many circular rings surrounding a central
    star. Other stars are visible in an otherwise dark field. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                     Dust Shells around WR 140 from Webb
   Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]JWST, [7]MIRI, [8]ERS Program
                      1349; Processing: [9]Judy Schmidt

   Explanation: What are those strange rings? Rich in dust, the rings are
   likely 3D shells -- but how they were created remains a [10]topic of
   research. Where they were created is well known: in a [11]binary star
   system that lies about 6,000 [12]light years away toward the
   [13]constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) -- a system dominated by the
   Wolf-Rayet star [14]WR 140. [15]Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, bright,
   and known for their [16]tumultuous winds. They are also known for
   creating and dispersing heavy [17]elements such as [18]carbon which is
   a building block of interstellar [19]dust. The other star in the
   [20]binary is also bright and massive -- but [21]not as active. The two
   [22]great stars [23]joust in an [24]oblong orbit as they approach each
   other about every eight years. When at closest approach, the [25]X-ray
   [26]emission from the system increases, as, apparently, does the dust
   expelled into space -- creating [27]another shell. The [28]featured
   [29]infrared [30]image by the new [31]Webb Space Telescope resolves
   [32]greater details and [33]more dust shells than ever before.

                    Tomorrow's picture: falcon and hunter
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [45]Robert Nemiroff ([46]MTU) & [47]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([48]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [49]Specific rights apply.
              [50]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [51]ASD at [52]NASA / [53]GSFC,
                         [54]NASA Science Activation
                           & [55]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2209/WR140_WebbSchmidt_960.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://webb.nasa.gov/
   7. https://webb.nasa.gov/content/observatory/instruments/miri.html
   8. https://www.stsci.edu/jwst/science-execution/approved-programs/dd-ers/program-1349
   9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/
  10. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01812-x
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_star
  12. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  13. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/cygnus.html
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_140
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf%E2%80%93Rayet_star
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200308.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200809.html
  18. https://periodic.lanl.gov/6.shtml
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html
  21. https://www.purina.co.uk/sites/default/files/2020-12/How%20Long%20Do%20Cats%20SleepTEASER.jpg
  22. https://www.sciencealert.com/extraordinary-phenomenon-in-space-captured-by-spellbinding-new-image
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting
  24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliptic_orbit#/media/File:Animation_of_Orbital_eccentricity.gif
  25. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays
  26. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022HEAD...1911098C/abstract
  27. https://youtu.be/ssJ_I5loCbc?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpegG_WpYvUvvAegH7e02Aw
  28. https://twitter.com/SpaceGeck/status/1564137949993656320
  29. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/star-duo-forms-fingerprint-in-space-nasa-s-webb-finds
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/about/index.html
  32. https://youtu.be/4lQy8v-BWNw
  33. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WR140.png
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221012.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  43. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221013
  44. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221014.html
  45. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  46. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  47. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  48. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  49. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  51. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  52. https://www.nasa.gov/
  53. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  54. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  55. http://www.mtu.edu/