The Webb Telescope has captured the triple star system Apep, which contains two rare Wolf-Rayet stars. New data revealed a complex structure of dust spirals around the system, where the stars orbit with an extremely long 190-year orbital period.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured a unique triple star system Apep, resembling a "cosmic embryo" and containing two of the extremely rare Wolf-Rayet stars. This is reported by Space, writes UNN.
Details
New data obtained with the telescope in the mid-infrared range revealed a complex structure of nested dust spirals around the triple system, where two Wolf-Rayet stars orbit each other in an extremely long 190-year orbit. Powerful stellar winds from these hot massive luminaries create dense carbon dust, which forms spiral shells every 25 years.
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This is a unique system with an incredibly rare orbital period
– noted Ryan White from Macquarie University.
He emphasized that most similar systems have orbits of 2-10 years, while the next longest after Apep is only about 30 years.
Photo: NASA
Thanks to the Webb telescope's MIRI instrument, it was possible to see several nested spirals at once, which record close approaches of stars over the past 700 years.
Looking at Webb's new observations, it was like walking into a dark room and turning on the light – everything became visible
– explained Inou Han from the California Institute of Technology.
Studies have confirmed that there is a third, even more massive star in the system, although in the images from both Webb and other powerful telescopes, all three appear as a single point of light, located approximately 8,000 light-years away, but the exact distance is still under study.
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