Apep Wolf-Rayet Star System

Enormous spiraling shells of cosmic dust surround Apep, an extraordinary triple-star system named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos. Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals four expanding dust shells, formed over the past 700 years by powerful stellar winds from two rare Wolf-Rayet stars, massive, evolved stars nearing the ends of their lives. As the two stars orbit each other approximately every 190 years, their colliding winds produce vast quantities of carbon-rich dust. A third star, a massive supergiant, carves gaps through the expanding shells, creating their intricate, swirling appearance. Previously, only one dust shell had been observed. Webb’s infrared observations reveal the system’s remarkable structure in unprecedented detail, offering new insights into how massive stars produce and distribute dust throughout space.