Friday, November 01, 2024

The Bubble Nebula & Star Cluster M52 | Burrell Schmidt Telescope

The Bubble Nebula & Star Cluster M52 | Burrell Schmidt Telescope

Open star cluster Messier 52 (NGC 7654) [upper-left] and the Bubble emission nebula (NGC 7635) [lower-right]. This combination of CCD images from the Kitt Peak Burrell Schmidt Telescope extends more than a degree across the sky (twice the diameter of the full moon).

What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. The featured striking view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment.

Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Seen here above and right of the Bubble's center, a bright hot star is embedded in the nebula's reflecting dust. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the star (that likely has a mass 10 to 20 times that of the Sun) has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. 

Learn more about the Burrell Schmidt Telescope in Arizona:

https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/kitt-peak-national-observatory/burrell-schmidt-telescope/


Credit: N.A.Sharp, REU Program / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarCluster #Messier52 #NGC7654 #Nebulae #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #BD602522 #StellarRadiation #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KPNO #NSF #AURA #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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