IRC +10216 or CW Leonis is the best studied carbon star, but also a very peculiar one with the central star being embedded in a thick dust envelope. Therefore, its energy is emitted mostly at infrared wavelengths: in fact, IRC +10216 is the brightest object in the sky at a wavelength of 10 ?m. Recent speckle observations (Weigelt et al. 1998 A&A,333,51, Haniff and Buscher 1998 A&A,334,5) are beginning to show the complex structure of the dust envelope.
CW Leonis is believed to be in a late stage of its life, blowing off its own sooty atmosphere to form a white dwarf in a distant future. Various chemical elements and molecules have been detected in the outflows from CW Leonis, among others nitrogen, oxygen and water, silicon and iron.
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