I’ve been wanting to take a picture of this intriguing nebula for some time. Unfortunately, my view of the northern sky is blocked by a number of buildings and trees. In the last few days however, it’s just popped into view before dawn. As the year advances, the Bubble Nebula will appear higher in the sky and for a longer period of darkness, so I should be able to get some longer exposures. In the meantime, here is a 20 minute exposure that I managed to grasp with my Seestar S50 just before early morning twilight started to spoil the view.
The Bubble Nebula is a shell of hot expanding gas thrown off by a star that is 45 times as massive, and a million times brighter, than the sun. Like all massive stars, it is incredibly hot. Although only a few million years old, it has already exhausted it’s primary hydrogen fuel and is now churning its way through helium. In about 10 to 20 million years time it is likely to go nova.
It lies 7,000 light years away in the direction of Cassiopeia. The distinctive “W” of Cassiopeia provides a handy pointer.
But unless you’re blessed with dark skies and a larger telescope than I have (you’ll probably need at least an 8″ scope and not live near any city or suburban light pollution) you’ll be very lucky to see anything. As always, a long exposure with a camera is needed to make it visible for the rest of us.
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astrophotography/nebulae/bubble-nebula
Platitude of the Day 