WR 134 SHO

WR 134 is a variable Wolf-Rayet star in the constellation Cygnus, approximately 5,700 ly from the Sun. With a magnitude of 8.08, it is not visible to the naked eye, but binoculars are sufficient for observation. The star is surrounded by a faint nebula produced by the intense stellar wind emitted by the star.

It is an intrinsically very luminous star (400,000 times brighter than the Sun). This luminosity is not due to its radiant surface, as the star has a radius of 5.29 R☉. But rather to its very high surface temperature of 63,100 K, typical of Wolf-Rayet stars. Like stars of its class, WR 134 loses mass at a very high rate (4 ×10−5 M☉ per year ) through very fast stellar winds (1820 km/s). Born as a star of spectral class O, the star has lost a significant fraction of its initial mass, which is now reduced to 19 M☉[3].