WR 124

WR 124

NIRCam and MIRI composite image by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Sagitta
Right ascension 19h 11m 30.875s[1]
Declination +16° 51′ 38.20″[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 11.50±0.11[2]
Characteristics
Spectral type WN8h[3]
Apparent magnitude (B) 12.19±0.16[2]
Apparent magnitude (J) 8.578±0.024[4]
Apparent magnitude (H) 8.179±0.018[4]
Apparent magnitude (K) 7.732±0.018[4]
B−V color index 0.69[2]
Variable type Eruptive (WR)[5]
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv)190±7.4[6] km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: −2.517±0.012[1] mas/yr
Dec.: −5.671±0.012[1] mas/yr
Parallax (π)0.1568 ± 0.0140 mas[1]
Distance21,000 ± 2,000 ly
(6,400 ± 600 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV)−6.58[7]
Details
Mass20[7] M☉
Radius11.93[7] R☉
Luminosity562,000[7] L☉
Temperature44,700[7] K
Age8.6[8] Myr
Other designations
Merrill's Star, QR Sagittae, HIP 94289, GSC 01586-00411, Sh 2-80, Hen 2-427
Database references
SIMBADdata

WR 124 is a Wolf–Rayet star in the constellation of Sagitta surrounded by a ring nebula of expelled material known as M1-67.[9] It is one of the fastest runaway stars in the Milky Way with a radial velocity around 200 km/s. It was discovered by Paul W. Merrill in 1938, identified as a high-velocity Wolf–Rayet star.[10] It is listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars as QR Sagittae with a range of 0.08 magnitudes.[5] NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured detailed infrared images of WR 124,[11] revealing significant dust production and offering new insights[12] into the life cycles of massive stars and their contributions to the cosmic dust budget.

  1. ^ a b c d e Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2021). "Gaia Early Data Release 3: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 649: A1. arXiv:2012.01533. Bibcode:2021A&A...649A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657. S2CID 227254300. (Erratum: doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202039657e). Gaia EDR3 record for this source at VizieR.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference tycho2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hamann was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cutri, Roc M.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Beichman, Charles A.; Carpenter, John M.; Chester, Thomas; Cambresy, Laurent; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Huchra, John P.; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Light, Robert M.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Stiening, Rae; Sykes, Matthew J.; Weinberg, Martin D.; Wheaton, William A.; Wheelock, Sherry L.; Zacarias, N. (2003). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri+ 2003)". CDS/ADC Collection of Electronic Catalogues. 2246: II/246. Bibcode:2003yCat.2246....0C.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference gcvs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference rv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c d e Sota, A.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Morrell, N. I.; Barbá, R. H.; Walborn, N. R.; Gamen, R. C.; Arias, J. I.; Alfaro, E. J.; Oskinova, L. M. (2019). "The Galactic WN stars revisited. Impact of Gaia distances on fundamental stellar parameters". Astronomy & Astrophysics. A57: 625. arXiv:1904.04687. Bibcode:2019A&A...625A..57H. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201834850. S2CID 104292503.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference marchenko was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference crowther was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference merrill was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "James Webb Space Telescope Captures Stunning Image of WR 124 star". www.jameswebbdiscovery.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  12. ^ "NASA's Webb Telescope Captures Rarely Seen Prelude to Supernova - NASA". 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2024-05-31.