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Wolf-Rayet 124

A composite image of the fast-burning star WR 124.
A composite image of the fast-burning star WR 124. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team

This star is a supernova waiting to burst into action. It’s a Wolf-Rayet star, which is rapidly losing mass as it ages. At the end of its life cycle it will explode in one of the cosmos’ most brilliant light shows.

This particular Wolf-Rayet star is WR 124, a star 30 times the Sun’s mass and 15,000 light-years away, which has already shed 10 solar masses. Webb imaged it in March.

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