2025年11月24日
Apep: Unusual Dust Shells from Webb
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, JWST; Science: Y. Han (Caltech), R. White (Macquarie U.); Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)
Explanation: What created this unusual space sculpture? Stars. This unusual system of swirls and shells, known as Apep, was observed in unprecedented detail by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in infrared light in 2024. Observations indicate that the unusual shape originates from two massive Wolf-Rayet stars orbiting each other every 190 years with each close passes causing a new shell of dust and gas to be expelled. Holes in these shells are thought to be caused by a third orbiting star. This stellar dust dance will likely continue for hundreds of thousands of years, possibly ending only when one of the massive stars runs out of internal nuclear fuel and explodes in a supernova punctuated by a burst of gamma-rays.
Build your own star system: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow’s picture: picturesque comet
阿佩普（Apep）: 韦伯望远镜拍摄的奇异尘埃壳层
影像提供: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, JWST; 科学数据: Y. Han (Caltech), R. White (Macquarie U.); 影像处理: A. Pagan (STScI)
说明: 这个不寻常的太空雕塑是如何形成的？答案是：恒星。这个由漩涡和壳层构成的奇特系统，被称为阿佩普（Apep），于2024年被NASA的詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜在红外线波段观测到前所未有的细节。观测结果显示，这个不寻常形状源自两颗巨大的沃尔夫–拉叶星，它们每190年互相绕行一周，每次近距离交会会抛出一层新的尘埃和气体壳层。这些壳层中的孔洞被认为是由第三颗绕行恒星造成的。这场恒星尘埃的舞蹈可能会持续数十万年，或许只有在其中一颗巨大恒星耗尽内部核燃料并发生超新星爆炸，伴随着伽玛射线爆时才会结束。
建构自己的恒星系统: 每日天文谜题
明日的图片: picturesque comet
