WR 8 - Rarely imaged Wolf Rayet star in HOO with RGB stars

Image Title: WR 8 - Rarely imaged Wolf Rayet star in HOO with RGB stars

Copyright: Mike Selby and Gowri Visweswaran

Date image was taken: January 01, 2025

Location: Observatorio El Sauce, Chile

Data Acquisition Method: Remote Observatory (Commercial)

Image Description and Details: WR 8 is a Wolf Rayet star in the constellation of Puppis, it is a hot massive star with a high rate of loss of mass. Given the loss of mass large amounts of material are constant being blown off the star. The winds of material create broad emission lines in a range of optical spectra.

The average Wolf Rayet star has at least 25 times the mass of our sun and a life span. Of only a few hundred thousand years. Only 220 Wolf Rayet stars have been identified in our galaxy so far. The stars generally end in a supernova.

Visible in the image is the considerable amount of material in the Hydrogen Alpha and OIII spectra that have blown off of WR8.

Equipment Details: Telescope:
Planewave CDK700
Camera:
Moravian Instruments Moravian C5A-150M
Mount:
Planewave 700 Series Gimbal
Filters
Chroma HaOIIIRGB
Software
Adobe Photoshop · Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight

Name: Gowri Visweswaran