This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows part of a bubble nebula, called Sh2-308, surrounding the massive star EZ Canis Majoris.
Very intense radiation from EZ Canis Majoris pushes Sh2-308 out further and further, blowing it bigger and bigger. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
EZ Canis Majoris is approximately 5,200 light-years from Earth.
It is something known as a Wolf-Rayet star, and is one of the brightest known stars of its kind.
Its outer shell of hydrogen gas has been used up, revealing inner layers of heavier elements that burn at ferocious temperatures.
The intense radiation pouring out from EZ Canis Majoris forms thick stellar winds that whip up nearby material, sculpting and blowing it outwards.
These processes have molded the surrounding gas into a vast bubble.
Currently the edges of Sh2-308 are approximately 60 light-years apart.
A bubble nebula produced by a Wolf-Rayet star is made of ionized hydrogen (HII), which is often found in interstellar space.
In this case, it is the outer hydrogen layers of EZ Canis Majoris that are being inflated by the deluge of radiation coming from the central star.
This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
