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      WR 16
      Wallpaper author:
      Marius Dinga

      16 Jan 2026

      WR 16

      "WR 16 (HD 86161) is a Wolf-Rayet star located in the constellation Carina. It is a massive, luminous, and evolved star in a late stage of evolution, surrounded by a complex nebula formed by its strong stellar winds and past mass ejections.

      Motion measurements from the Gaia satellite show that WR 16 moves at about 61 km/s relative to its local interstellar medium, qualifying it as a runaway star. This rapid motion influences the shape of its surrounding nebula.

      Due to its high velocity, WR 16 creates a bow shock—a curved front where its stellar wind collides with the interstellar medium, compressing gas and dust. Radio and infrared imaging confirms the bow shock’s presence."(Wikipedia)

      Dataset from which the image was processed

      WR 16

      8 credit

      Open
      Telescope Live
      CHI-1-CMOS

      WR 16