Hubble Sees Red Giant Named Camelopardalis Cough Out Gas Bubble

Posted on July 10, 2012

The Hubble Telescope has spotted Camelopardalis (U Cam), a red giant, blowing a large bubble of gas. Camelopardalis is nearing the end of life. It is running low on fuel, which makes it unstable. NASA says that every thousand years, U Cam coughs out a nearly spherical shell of gas as a layer of helium around its core begins to fuse. NASA says the shell of gas coughed out by U Cam is almost perfectly spherical.

Camelopardalis is very small compared to the above image. NASA says the star would fit within a single pixel at the center of the image. The brightness of the dying star makes it appear much larger than it actually is.

SPACE
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE