Explanation:
Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar
apparition has a surprisingly
familiar shape.
Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply
as The
Bubble Nebula.
This colorful
telescopic image
includes a long exposure through a
hydrogen alpha filter to reveal details of
the cosmic bubble and its environment.
Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter
bubble offers evidence of
violent processes at work.
Above and right of the Bubble's center is a bright, hot,
Wolf-Rayet star with a mass 10 to 20 times that
of the Sun.
A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the
star has blasted out the
structure of glowing gas
against denser material in a surrounding
molecular
cloud.
The intriguing Bubble Nebula lies a mere
11,000 light-years away toward the boastful constellation
Cassiopeia.
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