NASA News · July 27, 2026
APOD: 2026 July 27 – NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula
Where it is in your sky
- Object
- NGC 7635 · Bubble Nebula · Emission nebula
- Constellation
- Cassiopeia
- Best seen
- Evenings from July to November; highest at midnight in September
- Climbs above 20°
- From 9° S to the North Pole
- Never rises
- South of 29° S
- What you need
- A small telescope (80–150 mm)
Tonight from your location
From the source
What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. Taken from Krakow, Poland, the featured view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Seen here right of the Bubble‘s center, a bright hot star is embedded in the nebula’s reflecting dust. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the star, which likely has a mass 10 to 20 times that of the Sun, has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. The intriguing Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia.
From NASA News.
