The Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888)

This image is a snapshot of a dying star!

About 120,000 to 240,000 years ago, a bright, massive star approached the end of its life. The old star became unstable, and the pulsation on the outer layer caused it to eject materials into outer space. As the outer layer drifts away, the stellar wind from its core caught up with the material, blowing away the cloud and ionising it to form this spectacular cosmic bubble scene!

Eventually, the old star will collapse under its own mass and die in a spectacular fashion. It will contract and explode, forming an extremely bright, super-powerful supernova that shines upon our night sky.

The image uses colours to differentiate the elements within the nebula. The blue bubble is made of oxygen while the red interior is predominantly hydrogen.

(The data was collected from the ‘IC Astronomy Observatory’ in Spain over a 5-month period through Telescopelive. I processed it using Pixinsight, Photoshop and Topaz DeNoise)