We happen to be staring right down the rotational axis of this monster. If, upon super-nova, this star becomes a gamma ray burster even our distance of 8000 ly may not protect us. Currently, neither WR 104 nor GRB beams are understood well enough to know the real level of danger. -WR 104: PINWHEEL STAR. Like a cosmic lawn sprinkler, dust streaming from a rotatingstar system creates a pinwheel pattern in this false color infrared image. Astronomers discovered the surprising star dust scenario using a sophisticated interferometer and the 10 meter Keck I telescope to observe the bright Wolf-Rayet star WR 104.Wolf-Rayet stars are thought to be massive objects on the brink of a cataclysmic supernova explosion - having grown so hot and bright that their intenselight begins to drive material away in a stellar wind.The problem is, their starlight would also be so intense that any dust flakes should be destroyed! A possible solution to this dusty dilemma is that a companion star exists hidden in the bright central region, generating wind interactions which shield a relatively narrow dust forming region from the light of WR 104.As the binary system rotates, the spray of surviving dust particles appears to spiral outward. Credit: U.C. Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, W.M. Keck Observatory
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:21:43 +0000