It's fitting that Yale junior Donglin Wu's first major scientific journal article as lead author focuses on stardust - tiny solid grains that form from stellar winds, drift into interstellar space, and may eventually become parts of new planets.
Wu has long been in awe of the majesty and mystery of stars. As a kid, in Shanghai, he would stare at the heavens in wonder of what it all meant. He brings that same spirit of curiosity to his studies at Yale, especially in his work with Héctor Arce, a professor of astronomy in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Daisuke Nagai, a professor of physics and astronomy in FAS.
"Astronomy and astrophysics connect to something very romantic," Wu says. "You look up at the night sky and think about how immense it is. There are so many things that are still unknown - things that are difficult to observe, things that are rare."
One rarity in astronomy is the subject of Wu's new study, published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Wu analyzed observational data on WR 112, a binary star system containing a rare, massive Wolf-Rayet star, which are known for their unusual spectra and relatively short life span. In this case, an intensely hot, and dying, Wolf-Rayet star orbits another star companion. Together, these stars blast out powerful stellar winds that collide and create dense, cooling regions where dust forms, before this dust is scattered into interstellar space by intense starlight.
