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Astronomy Picture of the Day = Sh2-308: A Dolphin Shaped Star Bubble
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod ^
| 29 Mar, 2023
| Image Credit & Copyright: Aleix Roig (AstroCatInfo)
Posted on 03/29/2023 2:02:04 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Which star created this bubble? It wasn't the bright star on the bubble's right. And it also wasn't a giant space dolphin. It was the star in the blue nebula's center, a famously energetic Wolf-Rayet star. Wolf-Rayet stars in general have over 20 times the mass of our Sun and expel fast particle winds that can create iconic looking nebulas. In this case, the resulting star bubble spans over 60 light years, is about 70,000 years old, and happens to look like the head of a dolphin. Named Sh2-308 and dubbed the Dolphin-Head Nebula, the gas ball lies about 5,000 light years away and covers as much sky as the full moon -- although it is much dimmer. The nearby red-tinged clouds on the left of the featured image may owe their glow and shape to energetic light emitted from the same Wolf-Rayet star.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail). For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
To: MtnClimber
2
posted on
03/29/2023 2:02:20 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; America_Right; AZ .44 MAG; ...
Pinging the APOD list.
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
3
posted on
03/29/2023 2:02:51 PM PDT
by
MtnClimber
(For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
To: MtnClimber
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish...
4
posted on
03/29/2023 2:09:15 PM PDT
by
103198
(It's the metadata stupid...)
To: MtnClimber
5
posted on
03/29/2023 2:11:02 PM PDT
by
metmom
(...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith….)
To: 103198
6
posted on
03/29/2023 2:11:58 PM PDT
by
PGR88
To: PGR88
You beat me to it.
I was going to suggest somebody ‘flip’ the photo over and they would see a porpoise, not a dolphin.
To: MtnClimber
Cool!
Some interesting dynamics at work there. Not a circle like the Ring Nebula or the Helix.
8
posted on
03/29/2023 2:34:28 PM PDT
by
telescope115
(My feet are on the ground, and my head is in the stars. A Man, and proud of it!)
To: MtnClimber
Flipper in the afterlife. :-)
9
posted on
03/29/2023 3:10:27 PM PDT
by
AFB-XYZ
(Stand up, or bend over)
To: MtnClimber
Mild resemblance....
To: MtnClimber
A dolphin HEAD shaped bubble, to be more precise.
11
posted on
03/29/2023 3:44:38 PM PDT
by
Tucker39
("It is impossible so to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." George Washington )
To: PGR88
It’s really only its head. The snout is quite convincing.
12
posted on
03/29/2023 3:46:40 PM PDT
by
Tucker39
("It is impossible so to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." George Washington )
To: MtnClimber
Boy, it sure does look like a dolphin’s head.
To: MtnClimber
14
posted on
03/30/2023 5:35:59 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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