S308, a Wolf-Rayet Bubble Imaged by XMM-Newton in its Full Glory
Minimum credit line: Image courtesy of J.A. Toala and M.A. Guerrero (IAA-CSIC), Y.-H. Chu and R.A. Gruendl (UIUC), S.J. Arthur (CRyA - UNAM), R.C. Smith (NOAO/CTIO), and S.L. Snowden (NASA/GSFC) and G.Ramos-Larios (IAM) and ESA. (for details, see Conditions of Use).
Credit: ESA/XMM-Newton, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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| About this Image |
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XMM-Newton EPIC (blue) and CTIO optical H-alpha (red) and [O III] (green) images of the bubble S308 around the Wolf-Rayet star HD 50896. The large angular size of this WR bubble required the acquisition of a mosaic of four XMM-Newton EPIC observations by a team led by Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois). The optical images were taken by R.C. Smith (NOAO/CTIO) using the Michigan Curtis Schmidt telescope. Located at 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Canis Major, S308 is a colossal bubble, almost 60 light-years across, blown by the powerful stellar wind of the WR star HD 50896. The stellar wind itself is shock-heated to high temperatures and emits X-rays, whereas the nebular material seen in H-alpha is snow-plowed by the stellar wind and a shock propagating outwards into the circumstellar medium is seen in the [O III] light. This bubble will soon break and disperse into the circumstellar medium. The WR star will end its life later in a supernova explosion.
Investigator(s): Jesus A. Toala and Martin A. Guerrero (IAA-CSIC), You-Hua Chu and Robert A. Gruendl (UIUC), S. Jane Arthur (CRyA - UNAM), R. Chris Smith (NOAO/CTIO), and Steve L. Snowden (NASA/GSFC)
| For More Information |
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- Read the Journal article
- Detailed description of this image
- Query XSA archive for XMM-Newton data in the field of HD 50896
- Astronomical database entries for HD 50896 ;
- Query NED for more images about HD 50896
- Query SIMBAD for more HD 50896 data
- For unfamiliar terms, visit the XMM-Newton Astronomical Glossary
| Instrument | EPIC | ||
| Observing Mode | Full Frame | ||
| Filter | Thin | ||
| Image size | 1.17 x 1.17 degrees | ||
| Alternate Resolutions | (Help) |
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