Wolf-Ray star WR124 slowly collapses, forming nebula M1-67 in Sagittarius

Some stars explode slowly. The rare and massive Wolf-RAY star is dynamic and hot, slowly collapsing right in front of the telescope. The glowing mass of gas is generally more than 30 times heavier than Earth and is being expelled by intense stellar winds. The Wolf-RAY star WR124 is forming a surrounding nebula known as M1-67. The details of why this star has been slowly disintegrating over the past 20,000 years remain a subject of study. WR124 is located 15,000 light-years away in the direction of Sagittarius (1 light-year is the distance light travels in one year, approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers). The fate of Wolf-RAY stars may depend on their mass, but many stars end their lives in spectacular explosions such as supernovae or gamma-ray bursts.