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Credit & Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco
Explanation:
Difficult to capture,
this mysterious, squid-shaped
interstellar cloud spans nearly three full moons in planet Earth's sky.
Discovered in 2011 by French astro-imager
Nicolas Outters,
the Squid Nebula's
bipolar shape is distinguished
here by the telltale blue
emission from
doubly ionized oxygen atoms.
Though apparently
surrounded by
the reddish hydrogen emission region Sh2-129,
the true distance and nature of the Squid
Nebula have been difficult to determine.
Still, one
investigation
suggests Ou4 really does lie within Sh2-129 some 2,300 light-years away.
Consistent with that scenario, the cosmic squid
would represent a spectacular outflow of material driven by a
triple
system
of hot, massive stars, cataloged as
HR8119,
seen near the center of the nebula.
If so, this truly giant squid nebula would physically be over 50
light-years across.
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A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: nebula
Publications with words: nebula
See also: