Wolf-Rayet star
A Wolf-Rayet star is a rare, massive, and extremely hot star characterized by strong stellar winds and significant mass loss. These stars are in a late stage of stellar evolution, often preceding a supernova explosion, and are known for their broad emission lines of ionized elements in their spectra.
Source: science.nasa.gov
APODs including "Wolf-Rayet star"
A Crescent Nebula Star Field
15/04/2003
What caused the Crescent Nebula? Looking like an emerging space cocoon, the Crescent Nebula, visible on the right, was created by the brightest star in its center. A leading progenitor hypothesis has the Crescent Nebula beginning to form about 250,000 years ago. At that time, the massive central star had evolved to become a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136), shedding its outer envelope in a strong stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of our Sun's mass every 10,000 years. This wind impacted surrounding gas left over from a previous phase, compacting it into a series of complex shells, and lighting it up. The Crescent Nebula, also known as NGC 6888, lies about 4,700 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. Star WR 136 will probably undergo a supernova explosion sometime in the next million years.