Wolf-Rayet Star 124: Stellar Wind Machine
			
		
		
		
			Some stars explode in slow motion. 
Rare, massive 
Wolf-Rayet stars 
are so tumultuous and hot that they slowly disintegrating right before our telescopes. 
Glowing gas globs each typically over 30 times more massive than the Earth are being expelled by violent stellar winds. 
Wolf-Rayet star WR 124, visible near the 
above image center spanning six 
light years across, 
is thus creating the surrounding nebula known as 
M1-67. 
Details of why this star has been slowly blowing itself 
apart over the past 20,000 years remains a topic of research. 
WR 124 lies 15,000 light-years away towards the 
constellation of 
Sagitta. 
The fate of any given 
Wolf-Rayet star 
likely depends on how massive it is, 
but many are thought to end their lives with spectacular explosions such as 
supernovas or 
gamma-ray bursts.