| Bubble Nebula and M52 Open Cluster |
Celestial harmony is evident in this image of the Open Cluster M52 and the Bubble
Nebula, in the constellation Cassiopeia. The M52 cluster exudes order, with hundreds
of relatively uniform young stars forming together about 20 million years ago from a
larger and now dissipated cloud of gas and dust. In counterpoint, the Bubble Nebula
is a younger cloud of gas and dust torn asunder by a rare brilliant hot star, called a
Wolf-Rayet star. Gas streaming outward from the massive central star simultaneously
distrupts the cloud but also compresses the cloud in some areas, accelerating starbirth
and poosible planet formation.
IMAGE DATA: 4" Astro-Physics F/6 refractor, SBIG ST10XME CCD camera,
LRGB image with exposures of 75, 15, 15, and 18 minutes, respectively, for a total
imaging time of just over 2 hours. The Luminance images used the IDAS filter, and
were unbinned. The red, green, and blue images were binned 2x2. Each individual
image was 3 minutes.
Nebula, in the constellation Cassiopeia. The M52 cluster exudes order, with hundreds
of relatively uniform young stars forming together about 20 million years ago from a
larger and now dissipated cloud of gas and dust. In counterpoint, the Bubble Nebula
is a younger cloud of gas and dust torn asunder by a rare brilliant hot star, called a
Wolf-Rayet star. Gas streaming outward from the massive central star simultaneously
distrupts the cloud but also compresses the cloud in some areas, accelerating starbirth
and poosible planet formation.
IMAGE DATA: 4" Astro-Physics F/6 refractor, SBIG ST10XME CCD camera,
LRGB image with exposures of 75, 15, 15, and 18 minutes, respectively, for a total
imaging time of just over 2 hours. The Luminance images used the IDAS filter, and
were unbinned. The red, green, and blue images were binned 2x2. Each individual
image was 3 minutes.
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