Abu Dhabi: The International Astronomical Centre (IAC) has shared stunning new images of the Bubble Nebula taken from its Astronomical Seal Observatory in Abu Dhabi.
On its social media platforms, the IAC said the pictures took 10.5 hours to shoot.
“The International Astronomical Center’s Astronomical Seal Observatory photographing the Bubble Nebula from Abu Dhabi. It is 7,000 light years away from us. The width of the bubble is seven light years, and it is formed due to the stellar winds of the star located inside. Its mass is 45 times the sun!,” the IAC said.
It added that the images had been captured using “hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur filters”.
The IAC is a science centre that focuses on astronomical concerns, including crescent watches and satellite re-entries.
First discovery
The Bubble Nebula was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel, a prominent British astronomer. According to NASA, the nebula is being formed by an O star — referred to officially as BD +60°2522 — an extremely bright, massive, and short-lived star that has lost most of its outer hydrogen and is now fusing helium into heavier elements. The star is about four million years old, and in 10 million to 20 million years, it will likely detonate as a supernova.
“The seething BD +60°2522 star forming the Bubble Nebula is 45 times more massive than our sun. Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a ‘stellar wind’ moving at over four million miles per hour. This outflow sweeps up the cold, interstellar gas in front of it, forming the outer edge of the bubble,” NASA has said.
