SUNSET: 
0
Photographer:
Jim Case
Location of Photo:
Southern California
Date/Time of photo:
July 2023
Equipment:
The image was created from sixteen and one-half hours of exposures in July 2023 using an ASI2600MC camera, LX200 ACF OTA, ASAIR+, ASI174mm mini guide camera with ASI OAG, and an Antila ALP-T dual narrowband filter on an Ioptron CEM40 mount, processed with APP and PS..
Description:
This the expanding bubble in Cygnus around Wolf-Rayet star 134 (WR134), about 6000 light years away, which is the second from the bottom of the four stars close to the center of the image. Wolf-Rayet stars are huge, at least 25 times the mass of our sun, and are hot and generate strong stellar winds that blow ionized gases into expanding shells. These stellar giants quickly consume their hydrogen and eject the material that produce the colorful expanding bubbles. As a result they have much shorter lives than smaller stars like our sun. If you look closely you may see the delicate ring of blue nebulosity surrounding the star which is much fainter than the striking bright blue arc in the image A higher resolution version is available on my gallery: https://www.cloudynights.com/gallery/image/184084-wr134/
