The 'Ghost of Cassiopeia' Drifts Along in This Spooky Hubble Image

[Judi Lynn]

By Sarah Lewin, Space.com Associate Editor | October 26, 2018 12:00pm ET

The "Ghost of Cassiopeia," a slowly eroding cloud of gas and dust, forms a glimmering haze in this eerie image from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The nebula, called IC 63, drifts 550 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. Its ethereal shape is influenced from afar by the fiercely shining variable star called Gamma Cassiopeiae. Though the star is several light-years from the nebula, it makes its powerful presence felt with blasts of radiation, according to a statement from the European Space Agency.

- click for image -

https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA4MC8yODIvb3JpZ2luYWwvaWMtNjMtZ2hvc3QtbmVidWxhLmpwZz8xNTQwNTY0MzMy

This ghostly nebula IC 63, about 550 light-years from Earth, emits hydrogen-alpha radiation and also reflects the cool blue light of the powerful nearby star Gamma Cassiopeiae. The nebula is about 0.31 light-years tall and 0.23 light-years wide.

Credit: ESA/Hubble/NASA

The blue-white subgiant star has 19 times the sun's mass and can reach 65,000 times the sun's brightness as it rotates at 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) per hour, which is more than 200 times the speed of the sun's rotation, according to the statement. It's surrounded by a disk of material that periodically blasts with material during its furious spin, making the star temporarily blaze brighter in the northern night sky.

More:
https://www.space.com/42263-eerie-nebula-ghost-hubble-telescope-photo.html

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. Wow!! Great space articles today! TY

Have a great weekend.

[Princess Turandot]

2. Here is the image and the NASA article on it:

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2018/hubble-captures-the-ghost-of-cassiopeia




If a NASA image has made it to another outlet, it can almost always be found on their website!