Lambda Velorum starfield

Lambda Velorum (λ Vel) is an orange supergiant star located in a rich starfield within the Milky Way, from which it stands out due to its amber color. The official name of the star is Suhail, from the longer Arabic version “Suhail al-Wazn”, meaning “Suhail the heavy”. It is located 545 light-years away and has an apparent magnitude of +2,21. Suhail is a slow irregular variable star, with magnitude variation of 0,15.

Suhail has a spectral classification of K4Ib, so it’s an evolved star with high luminosity. Because it is nearing the end of its life, it is a cool star, its surface temperature being only 3800 K. Its mass is estimated at 7 solar masses, making its final outcome quite uncertain – it can evolve into a white dwarf or it can go supernova via the electron-capture process, leaving a neutron star behind. The current evolution stage indicates an inert carbon-oxygen core surrounded by a helium-hydrogen shell where fusion processes are still going on.

In the same starfield, not far from Suhail, a very subtle nebula catches the eye – RCW 36 (Gum 20) – a bright red patch surrounded by a dark dust lane. This object is part of a greater structure called the Vela Molecular Ridge, a collection of multiple sites of star formation. RCW 36 is 3100 light-years away and has an embedded star cluster, rich in B-type stars and lower mass stars. 2 Herbig Haro objects were also found here – HH 1042 and 1043 – with an age of only 1 million years old.