Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Canis Major (CMa)  ·  Contains:  16 CMa)  ·  The star Udra (ο1 CMa
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
SH2-308, Chris Plonski
SH2-308
Powered byPixInsight

SH2-308

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
SH2-308, Chris Plonski
SH2-308
Powered byPixInsight

SH2-308

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

SH2-308 is commonly known as the Dolphin Nebula or the Cosmic Bubble Nebula. It is located in in the constellation of Canis Major (The Big Dog). It is an HII region seen here glowing red due to the ionized hydrogen gas in its makeup. The main blue area is made up of ionized oxygen gas that is expanding rapidly due to the intense solar winds coming from the bright blue central star. This is a "Wolf-Rayet" star that is many times the mass of our sun and is in a pre-supernova stage of its evolution. Its impending supernova explosion will consume the bubble and surrounding area. The distance from Earth is a contested number ranging from 1900 to 5800 light years away, but largely considered to be 4350 light years away making the bubble about 60 light years in diameter. Quite a large dolphin head!

Comments

Revisions

  • SH2-308, Chris Plonski
    Original
  • SH2-308, Chris Plonski
    B
  • Final
    SH2-308, Chris Plonski
    C

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

SH2-308, Chris Plonski