From the National Optical Astronomical Observatories
The Bubble Nebula is a shell of gas and dust carved out by the stellar wind of the massive central star BD +60 2522 and ionized by the same star's high-energy light. It is in the constellation Cassiopeia and is bright enough to be seen with a small telescope. About 10 light years across, it is part of a much larger complex of stars and gaseous shells. This picture was created from several exposures in each of three filters made with the T1KA CCD camera at the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 2.1-meter telescope in August of 1999.
Image Title: The Bubble Nebula NGC 7635
Credit: Doug Williams AURA/NOAO/NSF
Text based on accompanying on-line materials.
Last Modified On: Saturday, December 16, 2000