Fact Sheet
Thrown for a Loop
Delicate wisps of gas and dust from an exploded star stretch across part of Cygnus, the swan, in this recent image from Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona. The star exploded several thousand years ago, and remnants of the blast continue to expand into the galaxy, forming a large bubble known as the Cygnus Loop. As seen from Earth, the loop is as wide as about six full Moons. It is too faint to see without a telescope, however. [T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage/H. Schweiker/NOAO/AURA/NSF]
|