The Ejecta Nebula Around the Wolf–Rayet Star WR 71

Abstract We present deep H α and [O iii ] images of the ejecta-rich nebulosity associated with the suspected runaway and binary Wolf–Rayet (WR) star WR 71 (HD 143414). In H α emission, the nebula appears as a crescent shaped, broken ring of clumpy emission some <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>9</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo accent="true">′</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mo>×</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo accent="true">′</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> in angular size centered to the south and west of the WR star. At a Gaia estimated distance of 4.27 kpc, the nebula has physical dimensions of 11 × 16 pc making it one of the larger known ejecta rich WR ring nebulae. Our [O III ] image also show considerable surrounding faint nebulosity much of which may be unrelated to the WR star. A comparison of the nebula’s optical appearance with that seen in Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer 22 μ m data shows infrared coincidence with the nebula’s brightest [O III ] emission features. Deep H α and [O III ] images like those presented here suggests that new and substantially deeper imaging reconnaissance of WR stars compared to earlier surveys may lead to additional WR ring nebula detections, thereby enhancing our understanding on the frequency and formation of WR ring nebulae.