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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                  2025 January 29   
      A bright spot at the center is surrounded by many concentric rings. The   
       rings are nearly -- but not exactly -- circular in appearance. Please   
                see the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                        Dust Shells around WR 140 from Webb   
       Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, E. Lieb (U. Denver), R. Lau (NSF   
                         NOIRLab), J. Hoffman (U. Denver)   
      
      Explanation: What are those strange rings? Rich in dust, the rings are   
      likely 3D shells -- but how they were created remains a topic of   
      research. Where they were created is well known: in a binary star   
      system that lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation   
      of the Swan (Cygnus) -- a system dominated by the Wolf-Rayet star WR   
      140. Wolf-Rayet stars are massive, bright, and known for their   
      tumultuous winds. They are also known for creating and dispersing heavy   
      elements such as carbon, which is a building block of interstellar   
      dust. The other star in the binary is also bright and massive -- but   
      not as active. The two great stars joust in an oblong orbit as they   
      approach each other about every eight years. When at closest approach,   
      the X-ray emission from the system increases, as, apparently, does the   
      dust expelled into space -- creating another shell. The featured   
      infrared image by the Webb Space Telescope resolves greater details and   
      more dust shells than ever before. Images taken over consecutive years   
      show the shells moving outward.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
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