The Lobster Claw and Bubble Nebula

Lobster Claw nebula

Location in Sky

Lobster Claw nebula

Acquisition: SkyWatcher 130-PDS. August, 2022.


Quick Facts

  • Catalog: Sharpless 157 (Lobster Claw), NGC 7635 (Bubble Nebula).
  • Discovered: 1787, William Herschel.
  • Distance from Earth: 8,000 light-years.
  • Diameter: 400 light-years.
  • Magnitude: 10
  • Best Visible: Late Summer.

    • Description

    The Lobster Claw nebula is an active star forming region located roughly 8,000 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. The Bubble Nebula is the result of a star (BD +60°2522) roughly 45 times more massive than our sun burning so hot that gas escapes and forms a stellar wind around the star. Due to the gas's extreme heat, it is moving at more than 4,000,000 mph.