wr104
The pinwheel, named WR 104, was discovered eight years ago in the constellation Sagittarius. [1]
Eight years ago, WR104 was discovered in the constellation Sagittarius by Sydney University astronomer Peter Tuthill. [2]
The WR104’s spinning axis is pointing right towards Earth, not only that, but as the WR notation suggest - Wolf-Rayet - that the star is currently in its final supernova stage and could spray our planet with deadly showers of gamma-ray radiation any time. [3]
The cartoon shown above captures the essential features of this picture of WR 104. [4]
WR 104 is a Wolf-Rayet star located 8000 light years from Earth at RA 18h02m04s.07 Dec -23d37′41.2″ (ICRS). [5]
Because it is so far from us, the apparent size of the spiral around the star is so small that its discovery relied on advanced imaging techniques that utilized the full resolving power of the Keck Telescope, the world’s largest telescope. [4]
Earth could be in for a neighborhood dispute with a death star, according to an Australian astronomer. [...] A composite of 11 images of Wolf-Rayet 104, an unstable binary star system that could direct a deadly burst of gamma rays at Earth. [2]
A beautiful pinwheel in space might one day blast Earth with death rays, scientists now report. [...] A sequence of 11 frames, stacked here and colorized, show the Pinwheel system created by the binary star system known as Wolf-Rayet 104 seen by the Keck telescope in near-infrared. [1]
The stars have an orbital period of 220 days and the interaction between their stellar winds produce a spiral “pinwheel” outflow pattern over 200 AU long. [5]
“Viewed from Earth, the rotating tail appears to be laid out on the sky in an almost perfect spiral,” Tuthill said. [2]
Even a short gamma-ray burst at supernova strength could zap away half the Earth’s ozone layer, drastically increasing the amount of deadly space radiation that penetrates our atmosphere. [6]
The region where the stellar wind from the two massive stars interacts compresses the material enough for the dust to form, and the rotation of the system causes the spiral-shaped pattern. [5]
“Sometimes, supernovae like the one that will one day destroy WR104 focus their energy into a narrow beam of very destructive gamma-ray radiation along the axis of the system,” he warns. [2]
Sources:
[1] SPACE.com — Real Death Star Could Strike Earth
[2] FOXNews.com - ‘Death Star’ Gamma-Ray Gun Pointed Straight at Earth …
[3] Stellar Ray of Death Pointing Towards Earth - Gamma-ray burst may bring …
[4] wr104
[5] WR 104 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[6] ‘Death Star’ Gamma-Ray Gun Pointed Straight at Earth