Closeup completely reprocessed from the
master light taken during two temperate nights with calm air and moon in August 2022. The better processing quality allowed the greater magnification shown here.
Sh2-106Sh2-106 looks like a planetary nebula but it is not. It is instead a compact emission nebula and a star formation region in the constellation Cygnus. It is a H II region estimated to be around 2,000 ly (600 pc) from Earth, in an isolated area of the Milky Way.
In the center of the nebula is a young and massive star that emits jets of hot gas from its poles, forming the bipolar structure with an hourglass-like shape. Dust surrounding the star is also ionized by the star. The nebula spans about 2 light-years across.
The Star S106 IRThe central star, a source of infrared radiation usually referred to as S106 IR or S106 IRS 4, is believed to have been formed only 100,000 years ago. It is a massive star, approximately 15 solar masses. Two jets of matter streaming from its poles heat surrounding matter to a temperature of around 10,000 °C. Dust that is not ionized by the star's jets reflect light from the star. With an estimated surface temperature of 37,000°K, it is classified as a type O8 star. It loses a significant amount of mass in solar winds, ejecting material at around 100 km/s.
Comments