W O L F - R A Y E T S H E L L S
WR7, (NGC2359)
created: 12-17-2025.
revised: 01-18-2026.
Hello!
Wolf-Rayet Stars are a rare type of very massive "O" supergiant stars, (weighing in at over 20 solar masses), and are extremely hot (> 100,000K), and luminous. Only about 650 WR stars have been identified in our Milky-Way home galaxy. WR stars generally only last a few million years before tearing themselves apart in a supernova explosion, resulting in either a black hole or neutron star. Prior to exploding, these massive stars begin shedding their outer layers.
Wolf-Rayet Shells are rings of dust and gas formed by interacting collisions of powerful stellar winds blowing from binary Wolf-Rayet stars. These shells have often been misidentified as HII regions or planetary nebula. Only careful multi-wavelength spectroscopic studies of the star and shell can determine whether the object is a WR shell or a more traditional planetary.
Currently, there are about 44 known Wolf-Rayet Shell nebulas.
The first Wolf-Rayet stars were discovered in 1867 by French astronomers Charles Joseph Etienne Wolf and Georges Antoine Pons Rayet working together at the Paris Observatory.
There, the pair of astronomers used the observatory's 16" reflector, built by astronomer and telescope maker Leon Foucault, to discover the first three WR stars.
Later it was determined thru spectroscopic analysis by American astronomer Edward Pickering that WR stars were similar to the central stars of planetary nebula. It wasn't until the 20th century that the nature of WR stars was determined to be in a different classification. WR stars are very young and very rare (generally, only 1 out of 100 million stars). They have burned thru all of their initial hydrogen core, shedding their outer layers, and are now fusing helium, and are on their way to becoming supernovae. WR stars are identified by their spectra and based on their prominent emissions lines are classified into three categories: WN (nitrogen), WC (carbon), or WO (oxygen).
Here's an interesting website on WR stars by:
Reiner Vogel
There you can find a downloadable PDF finder chart of all the bright Wolf-Rayet Shells that are observable by amateur astronomers:
charts
Additional info on Wolf-Rayet stars and their shells can be found at:
here
and
also here
University of Sheffield in Yorkshire, England:
online Galactic Wolf Rayet Catalogue
If you would like to read a paper I wrote on Wolf-Rayet stars & shells, please follow this link to:
Observing Wolf-Rayet Shells! PDF
Below is my personal observation list of 'Wolf-Rayet Shells'.
I currently have 12 WR Shells that are visible from my Pittsburgh, PA latitude of +40.
(Most WR Shells are mainly visible from regions closer to the Equator or in the Southern Hemisphere).
The EAA observations are separated into "season". (there are apparently none visible for us northerners during the "Spring" season)
All of my images were taken using a ZWO "ASI294MC Pro" color CMOS cooled astronomical camera and Optolong L-eNhance narrowband filter (Ha, Hb, OIII).
Image capture using SharpCap with the "LiveStack" option with each image having minimal post-processing applied to it. While some of these nebula can be visibly observed, most require EAA observations or astrophotography. To see a negative photo with the WR star identified, click the color image.
Index:
| Winter: |
|
| Wolf-Rayet Object |
NGC / IC |
Nickname |
Type |
Constellation |
RA & Dec |
| WR6:
| SH2-308
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Canis Major
| RA: 06 54 09 DEC: -23 56 31
|
| WR7:
| NGC2359
| "Thors Helmet"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Canis Major
| RA: 07 18 38 DEC: -13 11 55
|
| Summer: |
|
| Wolf-Rayet Object |
NGC / IC |
Nickname |
Type |
Constellation |
RA & Dec |
| WR93:
| NGC6357
| "Lobster Nebula"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Scorpius
| RA: 17 26 31 DEC: -34 12 20
|
| WR102:
| G2.4+1.4
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagittarius
| RA: 17 45 48 DEC: -26 10 27
|
| WR124:
| SH2-80
| "Merrills Star"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagitta
| RA: 19 11 28 DEC: +16 51 57
|
| WR128:
|
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagitta
| RA: 19 48 32 DEC: +18 12 04
|
| WR134:
|
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| RA: 20 09 36 DEC: + 36 14 00
|
| WR136:
| NGC6888
| "Crescent Nebula"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| RA: 20 12 02 DEC: +38 20 59
|
| WR127:
| SH2-92
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| RA: 19 46 39 DEC: +28 14 44
|
| Fall: |
|
| Wolf-Rayet Object |
NGC / IC |
Nickname |
Type |
Constellation |
RA & Dec |
| WR?:
| NGC7635
| "Bubble Nebula"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cassiopeia
| RA: 23 20 42 DEC: +61 11 52
|
| WR157:
| SH2-157
| "Lobster Claw Nebula"
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cassiopeia/Cepheus
| RA: 23 16 03 DEC: +60 02 44
|
| WR152-153:
| SH2-132
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cepheus
| RA: 22 18 47 DEC: +56 08 05
|
Wolf-Rayet Shell Observations:
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR6
| SH2-308
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Canis Major
| 11/16/2025
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 10
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR7
| NGC2359
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Canis Major
| 02/26/2023
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 10
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
|
| "Thors Helmet"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR93
| NGC6357
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Scorpius
| 07/18/2020
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 60 seconds
| 30
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "Lobster Nebula"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR102
| G2.4+1.4
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagittarius
| 09/25/2025
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 10
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "G2.4+1.4"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR124
| SH2-80 / M1-67
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagitta
| 07/10/2021
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 60 seconds
| 30
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "Merrills Star"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR128
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Sagitta
| 09/25/2025
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 10
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR134
|
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| 09/25/2025
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 10
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR136
| NGC6888
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| 07/25/2022
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 25
| 75 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "Crescent Nebula"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR127
| SH2-92
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cygnus
| 09/15/2023
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 180 seconds
| 5
| 15 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR? BD+60°2522
| NGC7635
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cassiopeia
| 12/12/2023
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 300 seconds
| 10
| 60 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "Bubble Nebula"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR157
| SH2-157
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cassiopeia/Cepheus
| 10/22/2020
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 60 seconds
| 30
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
|
| "Lobster Claw Nebula"
|
| WR
| Object
| Type
| Constellation
| Date
| Optical Tube
| Mount
| Capture size
| Exposure
| Stack#
| Time
| Filter
| Guided
|
| WR152 & WR153
| SH2-132
| Wolf-Rayet Shell
| Cepheus
| 11/08/2020
| 8" SCT @ f6.3
| Atlas Gem
| 4144x2822
| 60 seconds
| 30
| 30 minutes
| L-eNhance
| yes
|
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Hope you enjoyed the visit. Come again soon!
Larry McHenry, Pittsburgh, PA. USA
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