Astronomers have reassessed the star system WR 104, previously feared for its potential gamma ray burst directed at Earth. A new study reveals that the orbit of its stars is tilted 30 to 40 degrees, reducing the risk to our planet. WR 104 consists of a massive Wolf-Rayet star, which, along with its companion, generates a striking pinwheel effect from colliding stellar winds. While this galactic dance will culminate in a supernova, the altered orientation of the stars reassures that humanity is out of harm's way when that time comes.
When I started this project, I thought the main focus would be the colliding winds and a face-on orbit was a given. Instead, I found something very unexpected. The orbit is tilted at least 30 or 40 degrees out of the plane of the sky.
Wolf-Rayets rapidly cast off their outer layers, which get swept up by the star's powerful wind. In WR 104's case, the Wolf-Rayet's wind collides with the wind of its orbital companion, creating a pinwheel of swirling dust that glows in the infrared spectrum.
The optimistic upshot is that, when it does explode, the Earth won't be caught in the crossfire.
The spectacle is soon doomed to end in a supernova, tragically. Wolf-Rayets have lifespans only in the hundreds of thousands of years.
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