Bubble Nebula
in Cassiopeia
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A star 40 times more massive
than the Sun is blowing a giant bubble of material into space. In this
colorful picture, the Hubble telescope has captured a glimpse of the expanding
bubble, dubbed the Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). The beefy star [lower center]
is embedded in the bright blue bubble. The stellar powerhouse is so hot
that it is quickly shedding material into space. The dense gas surrounding
the star is shaping the castoff material into a bubble. The bubble's surface
is not smooth like a soap bubble's. Its rippled appearance is due to encounters
with gases of different thickness. The nebula is 6 light-years wide and
is expanding at 4 million miles per hour (7 million kilometers per hour).
The nebula is 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia.Photographs and astronomical descriptions courtesy of NASA and AURA/STScI
Tales of the Immortal Night ©2003, J.J. Kuhl
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