Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)  ·  Contains:  Crescent Nebula  ·  NGC 6888  ·  Sh2-105
Crescent Nebula, Andrei Gusan
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Crescent Nebula

Crescent Nebula, Andrei Gusan
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Crescent Nebula

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Description

Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula powered by an ageing Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136) which created this web of luminous material during the late stages of its life. As a bloated, red super-giant, WR 136 gently puffed away some of its bulk, which settled around it. When the star passed from a super-giant to a Wolf-Rayet, it developed a fierce stellar wind - a stream of charged particles released from its surface - and began expelling mass at a furious rate. WR 136 age is estimated to be around 4.7 million years and it is nearing the end of its life. Within a few hundred thousand years, it is expected to explode as a supernova.

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Crescent Nebula, Andrei Gusan