Credit & Copyright: Wissam Ayoub
Explanation:
These clouds of gas and dust
drift through
rich star fields along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy toward the
high flying constellation Cygnus.
Caught within the
telescopic
field of view are the
Soap Bubble (lower left) and the
Crescent Nebula (upper right).
Both were formed at a final phase in the life of a star.
Also known as NGC 6888,
the Crescent was shaped as its bright, central massive
Wolf-Rayet
star, WR 136, shed its outer envelope in
a strong stellar wind.
Burning through fuel at a prodigious rate, WR 136 is near the end of
a
short life
that should finish in a spectacular
supernova
explosion.
Discovered in 2013, the Soap Bubble Nebula is likely a
planetary
nebula, the final shroud of a lower mass, long-lived, sun-like star
destined to become a slowly cooling white dwarf.
Both stellar shrouds are 5,000 light-years or so distant.
The larger Crescent Nebula is around 25 light-years across.
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Публикации с ключевыми словами:
Cygnus - NGC 6888 - Лебедь - Туманность Полумесяц
Публикации со словами: Cygnus - NGC 6888 - Лебедь - Туманность Полумесяц | |
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