Soap Bubble Nebula - PN G075.5+01.7, E. Vollmer

Soap Bubble Nebula - PN G075.5+01.7

Soap Bubble Nebula - PN G075.5+01.7, E. Vollmer

Soap Bubble Nebula - PN G075.5+01.7

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Description

In the middle of the Swan lies a very faint nebula. It is a transparent, almost perfect sphere and hangs in the night sky like a soap bubble. The bubble is a planetary nebula, formed after nuclear fusion at the centre of a star could no longer support its structure. Outer layers of the star are pushed outwards and drift through space for thousands of years. These gases are ionized by the UV light of the remaining star and glow, resulting in nebulae of various shapes and sizes. Most are elliptical or cigar-shaped, but the Soap Bubble Nebula has the rare shape of a sphere.

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Soap Bubble Nebula - PN G075.5+01.7, E. Vollmer