The Lupus clouds compose one of the main low-mass star forming complexes within 200 pc of the Sun. They contain four main star forming sites, including B228 in Barnard’s catalogue pictured above, more frequently referred to as Lupus 1 in modern literature. It is likely that the Sun formed in a similar star formation region more than four billion years ago. B228 is sometime named the Dark Wolf nebula. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - L (340m) R (120m) G (120m) B (120m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
The Vela Supernova Remnant is one of the best examples of the aftermath of a supernova explosion: the violent death of a star many times more massive than the sun which took place over 10,000 years ago. Pictured above a delicate wisp in the suthern part of the remnant. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (180m) OIII (270m) R (90m) G (90m) B (90m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 308 it lies some 5,200 light-years away in the constellation Canis Major and covers over 2/3 degree on the sky (compared with 1/2 degree for the Full Moon). That corresponds to a diameter of 60 light-years at its estimated distance. The massive star itself, a Wolf-Rayet star, is the bright blue one near the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars have over 20 times the mass of the Sun and are thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova phase of massive star evolution. Fast winds from this Wolf-Rayet star create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of evolution. The windblown nebula has an age of about 70,000 years. Relatively faint emission captured in the expansive image is dominated by the glow of ionized oxygen atoms mapped to bluish hues (text adapted from APOD). Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (210m) OIII (450m) R (130m) G (90m) B (130m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
