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The Wolf-Rayet stars are massive stars (more than 25 solar masses), in a advanced stage of evolution and ejecting at high speed a hot
gas (10³ km/s typically). They have exceptional surface temperature, 100.000 K typicaly. The spectrum presents strong emission widened lines. Wolf-Rayet stars have lost their atmospheres and have exposed their heavy cores. One finds there the signature of ions of helium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen in the spectra.

There are 2 class Wolf-Rayet star: type WN where dominates the ions of helium and nitrogen and type WC where dominates the ions of carbon, oxygen and helium.

The Wolf-Rayet stars are very rare. One counts some hardly more than 150 in our galaxy. One will find below a list of Wolf-Rayet
accessible since the northern hemisphere. The co-ordinates are into 2000.0 equinox.

 WR      HD          R.A.          Dec.       Type    V

  1     4004      0 43 28.4     +64 45 35     WN5   10.12
  2     6327      1 05 23.0     +60 25 19     WN2   11.43
  3     9974      1 38 55.7     +58 09 23     WN3   10.62
  4    16523      2 41 11.6     +56 43 50     WC5    9.98
  5    17638      2 52 11.7     +56 56 07     WC6   10.51
  6    50896      6 54 13.0     -23 55 42     WN5    6.74
  7    56925      7 18 29.2     -13 13 01     WN4   11.74
110   165688     18 07 57.0     -19 23 56     WN6    9.81
111   165763     18 08 28.5     -21 15 11     WC5    7.68
113   168206     18 19 07.4     -11 37 58     WC8    9.18
123   177230     19 03 59.0     -04 19 02     WN8   10.88
127   186943     19 46 15.9     +28 16 19     WN4   10.19
128   187282     19 48 34.2     +18 11 32     WN4   10.50
132   190002     20 01 41.8     +32 34 40     WC6   11.55
133   190918     20 05 57.3    +35 47 17     WN4    6.78
134   191765     20 10 14.2     +36 10 35     WN6    8.02
135   192103     20 11 53.5     +36 11 51     WC8    8.51
136   192163     20 12 06.5     +38 21 17     WN6    7.44
137   192641     20 14 31.8     +36 39 39     WC7    7.95
138   193077     20 17 00.0     +37 25 23     WN5    8.06
139   193576     20 19 32.4     +38 43 54     WN5    8.27
140   193793     20 20 28.1     +43 51 17     WC7    6.88
141   193928     20 21 31.8     +36 55 13     WN6    9.74
143   195177     20 28 24.3     +38 36 55     WC5   12.32
148   197406     20 41 21.6     +52 35 16     WN7   10.30
152   211564     22 16 35.7     +55 36 55     WN3   11.62
153   211853     22 18 45.6     +56 07 35     WN6    9.03
154   213049     22 27 17.7     +56 15 12     WC6   10.94
155   214419     22 36 54.0     +56 54 21     WN7    8.86
157   219460     23 15 12.6     +60 27 01     WN4   10.13
 
 

Left,  the WR135 star spectra carried out with the 100 lines/mm Jeulin grating associated with a prism of 3°57 ' in order to formed a grism. The unit is placed 63 mm in front of the CCD surface. Note that the grism made it possible to obtain quite fine emission lines to the detriment of the quality of the zero order image in the order 0. Right, the grating and the prism are slipped into a filters older interposing between the 190-mm telescope and the Audine camera.

Spectral profile of star WR135 acquired with the Jeulin grating and the prism of 3°57 '. This spectrum is not radimoetricaly calibrated  (one finds the spectral signature of the CCD responsivity and of the optic spectral transmission).

Another spectrum of WR135 carried out with a different dispersion. This time we use a Rainbow Optics of lines/mm associated with the 3°57 ' prism. The spectrum is calibrated.

A professional spectrum of star WR135 (Atlas of the Wolf-Rayet stars of A.V. Torres and P. Massey). The spectrum made with our small assemblies is not ridiculous and makes it possible to see the principal characteristics of these stars and to supervise their evolution.

The spectrum of star WR136 (grism assembly with the Rainbow Optics grating). Notice how this spectrum differs from that of WR135.

The spectrum of star WR140 (assembly GRISM with the network Rainbow Optics). The raw spectrum was corrected from response of the spectrograph.

A professional spectrum of WR140 star (Atlas of the Wolf-Rayet stars of A.V. Torres and P. Massey).