January 24, 2009
The atoms in your body have known many forms: star core, drifting dust, ocean mineral, living cell.
The Bubble Nebula
Birthday · January 24, 2009
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APOD published January 24, 2009. Credit: Kent Wood. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar apparition has a surprisingly familiar shape. Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply as The Bubble Nebula. This colorful telescopic image includes a long exposure through a hydrogen alpha filter to reveal details of the cosmic bubble and its environment. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Above and right of the Bubble's center is a hot, O-type star, several 100,000 times more luminous and approximately 45 times more massive than the Sun. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from that star has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. The intriguing Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia. Editor's Note (Jan. 26, 2009): Thanks to Daniel Majaess (St. Mary's Univ., Halifax) for corrections.
Image credit: Kent Wood