APOD: The Bubble Nebula (2014 Oct 02)

[APOD Robot]

The Bubble Nebula

Explanation: 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. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Above and left of the Bubble's center is a hot, O star, several hundred thousand times more luminous and around 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 and associated cloud complex lie a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia. This tantalizing view of the cosmic bubble is composed from narrowband image data, recording emission from the region's ionized hydrogen and oxygen atoms. To create the three color image, hydrogen and oxygen emission were used for red and blue and combined to create the green channel.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

[Ann]

This is - to me - an unusually goodlooking narrowband image. It brings out the fierce energies of the massive O star, soon to be a Wolf-Rayet star, one that loses mass at a phenomenal rate. After all, the mass loss has already begun and almost certainly contributes to the shape of the Bubble Nebula itself.

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

Ann

[geckzilla]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

I think you're right. In fact, I think the APOD description has been wrong more than once, now.
Wrong: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131214.html
Right: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120804.html
Right: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100902.html
Right: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090124.html

I've mailed the editors.

[rstevenson]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

I think you're right. In fact, I think the APOD description has been wrong more than once, now.

I don't see how you can tell, from just this picture. Wouldn't you need more data, gathered in other ways?

Here's a close-up, for purposes of discussion. Is it a choice between the star indicated by the yellow arrow versus the one under the red arrow?

Rob

[starsurfer]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

I think you're right. In fact, I think the APOD description has been wrong more than once, now.

I don't see how you can tell, from just this picture. Wouldn't you need more data, gathered in other ways?

Here's a close-up, for purposes of discussion. Is it a choice between the star indicated by the yellow arrow versus the one under the red arrow?

BubbleNebula.jpg

Rob

The so-called central star is the one marked with the red arrow.

[BDanielMayfield]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

I think you're right. In fact, I think the APOD description has been wrong more than once, now.

I don't see how you can tell, from just this picture. Wouldn't you need more data, gathered in other ways?

Here's a close-up, for purposes of discussion. Is it a choice between the star indicated by the yellow arrow versus the one under the red arrow?

BubbleNebula.jpg

Rob

Very interesting questions, ladies and gentleman. But since all stars put out stellar winds any and all stars that are actually inside this bubble would be contributing at least in part, wouldn't they? I think there might be arcs of material centered on each of the two dimmer stars that are above and below Rob's yellow arrowed star.

So it's a teem effort, in effect.

[johnx]

Since 10 per cent of the population is red green color blind why not use substitute colors?

[Boomer12k]

That is AWESOME!!!
I love the detail. I don't have any filters for my camera....(some day though)....so, I don't get the hydrogen and oxygen, I just get a slight crescent and some of the interior of the bubble. Still an interesting picture.

:---[===] *

[Boomer12k]

I wonder....if that is what our LOCAL BUBBLE...looks like from the outside????

:---[===] *

[Chris Peterson]

Since 10 per cent of the population is red green color blind why not use substitute colors?

Like what? Red and green are both primary colors on standard display devices.

[Ann]

Unless I'm very much mistaken, the O star that powers the Bubble Nebula can be seen above and to the left of the bubble center in this image.

I think you're right. In fact, I think the APOD description has been wrong more than once, now.

I don't see how you can tell, from just this picture. Wouldn't you need more data, gathered in other ways?

Rob

I'm obviously not able to just look at a picture (whether RGB, narrowband or black and white) of a random, nebula-free part of the sky and just tell from visual inspection if there is an O-type star in there.

No, but several years ago I made it my business to familiarize myself at least to some degree with all the more prominent O-type stars in the sky. Can't say I really succeeded, certainly not in, say, the Carina nebula where there is a bewildering number of hot stars.

No, but I do recognize other O-type stars, for example SAO 20575, the O-type star blowing the Bubble Nebula. I recognize the nebula, and I know the (apparent) position and relative brightness of SAO 20575 inside it.

Ann

[geckzilla]

I did collect data other than APOD description but I failed to include that in my original post, so I apologize. This is the star which was called the O-type star, which isn't:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1

This is the actual O-type star:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD%2B60_2522

[Ron-Astro Pharmacist]

For those out there in the learning phase as I , next month's S & T offers their cover to today's topic.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/sky-and- ... 014-issue/

And relevance to yesterdays as well. These remnants are truly interesting objects that will offer insight into their original structure once we learn to interpret the data. I'm glad there are those that do just that and that they are willing to share their thoughts here. Just wish those learning curves would flatten out a bit.

[rstevenson]

I did collect data other than APOD description but I failed to include that in my original post, so I apologize. This is the star which was called the O-type star, which isn't:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1

This is the actual O-type star:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD%2B60_2522

Thanks. Very helpful.

Rob

[BDanielMayfield]

For those out there in the learning phase as I , next month's S & T offers their cover to today's topic.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/sky-and- ... 014-issue/

And relevance to yesterdays as well. These remnants are truly interesting objects that will offer insight into their original structure once we learn to interpret the data. I'm glad there are those that do just that and that they are willing to share their thoughts here. Just wish those learning curves would flatten out a bit.

I got my copy of November's S&T a few days ago. The beautifully illustrated cover story is entitled The Exquisite Shells of Dying Stars, and it's subject is indeed relevant to yesterday's APOD. But I don't think today's subject is a planetary Ron, nor are the stars inside the bubble dying any time soon. They are relatively young stars, and they are still surrounded by left over dust and gas from the cloud they formed from.

[BDanielMayfield]

I did collect data other than APOD description but I failed to include that in my original post, so I apologize. This is the star which was called the O-type star, which isn't:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1

This is the actual O-type star:
http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-i ... &NbIdent=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BD%2B60_2522

Thanks. Very helpful.

Rob

But it popped the bubble on bubble-gate.

[DavidLeodis]

I'm (nothing new in that though ) about the O-star. In the explanation to this APOD as it currently is it states "Below and left of the Bubble's center is a hot, O star" but in its explanation with this discussion it currently states "Above and left of the Bubble's center is a hot, O star". In view of the discussion about the position of the star I would be grateful to know which is the correct statement. Thanks.

[rstevenson]

Above and slightly left, according to previous answers here. The brightest one within the bubble.

Rob

[geckzilla]

I'm (nothing new in that though ) about the O-star. In the explanation to this APOD as it currently is it states "Below and left of the Bubble's center is a hot, O star" but in its explanation with this discussion it currently states "Above and left of the Bubble's center is a hot, O star". In view of the discussion about the position of the star I would be grateful to know which is the correct statement. Thanks.

I updated the text here and mailed the editors about the error figuring one of them would update but I guess that might not happen.

[DavidLeodis]

Thanks Rob and geckzilla for your help.