Astr111 Photography Projects, Fall 2004

Bubble Nebula, Joy Van Egmond

The Bubble nebula is 7,100 light-years away from earth found in the constellation Cassiopeia. The Bubble is six light years wide and is expanding at four million miles per hour. The Bubble nebula was formed by a larger star, forty times bigger than the sun. This large star emits a dense, glowing gas because it is so hot to form the Bubble Nebula. There are three bubbles surrounding this one star called the bubble network. The Bubble Nebula is the smallest one out of the group. This isn't an ordinary bubble; it has ripples because of other gases in space. Its shape is being formed by strong stellar winds.

The Bubble Nebula is supposed to be red, but in my picture it looks more yellowish. It has a circular ring around it. The ring doesn't look complete in this picture, but in others it is by using a different telescope. The Bubble Nebula has a reddish haze above it. This too was created from a nearby large star emitting gas. The Bubble is very faint and has a low brightness.