Wolf-Rayet stars
Massive, blazing luminaries
Wolf-Rayet stars are extremely hot, massive stars in a late stage of evolution, characterized by intense stellar winds that strip away their outer layers.
They expel material at tremendous rates, creating expanding shells and nebulae of gas around them.
Named for the astronomers who first identified their distinctive spectra, these rare stars burn briefly and violently before ending as supernovae.
- ejectaMaterial forcibly discharged
- heliumLightest noble gas
- astrophysicsPhysics of celestial bodies
- nitrogenElement seven, colorless gas
- spectral linesDiscrete wavelength emission patterns
supernova · luminous · binary systems · stripped · massive stars · WC · mass loss · rare · star · dying · hot · blue · fusion · nebula · binary · core · winds · violent
- Celestial Objectsstars, planets, moons, comets, galaxies
- cosmic objectsstars, galaxies, nebulae, pulsars, quasars
- Star ClustersPleiades, open cluster, Seven Sisters, M4, M2
- Variable StarsMira, Cepheid variables, Betelgeuse, Polaris, nova
stellar temperature
Wolf-Rayet starsred dwarfs
Cool, faint, long-lived stars
brown dwarfs · Betelgeuse · red giants · Proxima Centauri · white dwarfs