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.

                               2025 January 29
   [2]A bright spot at the center is surrounded by many concentric rings.
     The rings are nearly -- but not exactly -- circular in appearance.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                     Dust Shells around WR 140 from Webb
     Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]STScI, [7]E. Lieb ([8]U.
    Denver), [9]R. Lau ([10]NSF NOIRLab), [11]J. Hoffman ([12]U. Denver)

   Explanation: What are those strange rings? Rich in dust, the rings are
   likely 3D shells -- but how they were created remains a [13]topic of
   research. Where they were created is well known: in a [14]binary star
   system that lies about 6,000 [15]light years away toward the
   [16]constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) -- a system dominated by the
   Wolf-Rayet star [17]WR 140. [18]Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, bright,
   and known for their [19]tumultuous winds. They are also known for
   creating and dispersing heavy [20]elements such as [21]carbon, which is
   a building block of interstellar [22]dust. The other star in the
   [23]binary is also bright and massive -- but [24]not as active. The two
   [25]great stars [26]joust in an [27]oblong orbit as they approach each
   other about every eight years. When at closest approach, the [28]X-ray
   [29]emission from the system increases, as, apparently, does the dust
   expelled into space -- creating [30]another shell. The [31]featured
   [32]infrared [33]image by the [34]Webb Space Telescope resolves
   [35]greater details and [36]more dust shells than ever before. Images
   taken over consecutive years show the [37]shells moving outward.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [49]Robert Nemiroff ([50]MTU) & [51]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([52]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [53]Specific rights apply.
            [54]NASA Web Privacy, [55]Accessibility, [56]Notices;
                A service of: [57]ASD at [58]NASA / [59]GSFC,
                         [60]NASA Science Activation
                           & [61]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2501/Wr140Rings_Webb_960_2023.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://www.stsci.edu/
   7. https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-lieb
   8. https://science.du.edu/physics
   9. https://sites.google.com/site/ryanlauastro/
  10. https://noirlab.edu/public/
  11. https://science.du.edu/about/faculty-directory/jennifer-l-hoffman
  12. https://science.du.edu/physics
  13. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025ApJ...979L...3L/abstract
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_star
  15. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  16. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/cygnus.html
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WR_140
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf–Rayet_star
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200308.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230108.html
  21. https://periodic.lanl.gov/6.shtml
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html
  24. https://www.purina.co.uk/sites/default/files/2020-12/How Long Do Cats SleepTEASER.jpg
  25. https://www.sciencealert.com/extraordinary-phenomenon-in-space-captured-by-spellbinding-new-image
  26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jousting
  27. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/2025/103/01JGPEDKQ9R00SN0G5S1Z14P1J
  28. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/11_xrays
  29. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022HEAD...1911098C/abstract
  30. https://youtu.be/ssJ_I5loCbc?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpegG_WpYvUvvAegH7e02Aw
  31. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-103
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/star-duo-forms-fingerprint-in-space-nasa-s-webb-finds
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/webb/about/index.html
  35. https://youtu.be/4lQy8v-BWNw
  36. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WR140.png
  37. https://youtu.be/_rRRhieyxAU
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250128.html
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  42. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  44. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  45. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  46. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  47. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250129
  48. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250130.html
  49. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  50. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  51. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  52. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  53. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  54. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  55. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  56. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  57. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  58. https://www.nasa.gov/
  59. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  60. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  61. http://www.mtu.edu/