What is the primary process creating the visible glowing shell after mass loss occurs?
Answer
The interaction where a much faster, high-velocity wind sweeps up the previously ejected slow wind material.
The visible glowing structure arises from a two-stage ejection process governed by stellar winds. Initially, the dying star produces a slow wind that carries mass away gently over time. Once the core heats sufficiently, it generates a much faster, high-velocity wind. It is the dynamic collision and sweeping action of this fast wind encountering and accumulating the slower wind material already expelled that primarily forms and structures the visible, expanding shell of glowing gas and dust.
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