Bubbles in space? You read that right! In the constellation of Cassiopeia (the Vain Queen) lies a gaseous blob 7,100 light years away and 7 light years in diameter. Looking through an eyepiece and telescope, only the massive star at the center of the bubble is visible. However, when shooting with a camera and hydrogen filter, the rapidly expanding outer shell–ionized by the energetic central star–pops from the starfield. Despite the lack of air in space, this bubble hasn’t popped in over 4 million years!
By Carl Crum ’24
