Imaged nights of 8/27/2019, 8/28/2019, 8/29/2019
The Bubble Nebula is an emission nebula located in the northern constellation Cassiopeia. The nebula lies at a distance of 7,100 to 11,000 light years from Earth. It is also known as Caldwell 11 or Sharpless 162. Its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 7635.
It was nicknamed the Bubble Nebula because of its shape, which was created by a strong stellar wind from a young, massive, hot Wolf-Rayet star that shed its material to form the nebula. The star has the designations SAO 20575 and BD+60 2522.
The Bubble Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 10 and is about 10 light years in diameter. The central star has a magnitude of 8.71 and a mass about 44 times that of the Sun. The star’s radiation ionizes the bubble-shaped shell, causing the nebula to glow. The stellar wind and radiation from the star are responsible for the nebula’s shape.
ngc 7635,emission nebula,cassiopeia
Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635). Image: Robert J. Vanderbei (Vanderbei at en.wikipedia)
NGC 7635 is located near a large molecular cloud, and lies roughly in the same direction as the open star cluster Messier 52, near the border with Cepheus constellation.
The nebula can be found about 35 arcminutes to the southwest of M52. The molecular cloud contains the nebula’s expansion and is itself illuminated by the glow of the nebula’s hot central star.
The Bubble Nebula was created about 300,000 years ago, when the central star expelled a shell of dust and gas. The expelled material rapidly moved away from the star and, as it interacted with the nearby molecular cloud, it began to create the nebula’s bubble shape.
(
www.constellation-guide.com/bubble-nebula-ngc-7635)
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