Monday, April 27, 2009

Spectacular Cosmic Bubble '60 Light Years Wide And 70,000 Years Old'

Dr Don Goldman took this picture from his base in California Photo: NATIONAL

From The Telegraph:

This spectacular cosmic bubble was caused by a gas expulsion from a dying star and is 60 light years across and 70,000 years old.

At its centre is a star, known as a Wolf-Rayet star which is 20 times the mass of the sun.

When it dies it throws out gas, creating winds which form the bubble.

It will eventually explode into a supernova.

Photographer Dr Don Goldman took this picture remotely from his base in California via an observatory in South Australia.

Dr Goldman said: "The object, known as S308 is a 'cosmic bubble' that represents a last-minute expulsion of gas from a dying star that forms a super wind in the form of a bubble.

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