Gautham Narayan
The Flames of Cygnus
The bright star near the center is Sadr, in the constellation Cygnus. Surrounding it in clouds of red H alpha is the Butterfly Nebula. The small Crescent Nebula (looks a bit like the Euro symbol) off to the top right is formed by a different process - a Wolf-Rayet star, WR-136, is in the last phase of its life and is shedding material in winds. These winds are running into gas that the star lost before it entered this giant phase, creating a shockwave.
The Flames of Cygnus
The bright star near the center is Sadr, in the constellation Cygnus. Surrounding it in clouds of red H alpha is the Butterfly Nebula. The small Crescent Nebula (looks a bit like the Euro symbol) off to the top right is formed by a different process - a Wolf-Rayet star, WR-136, is in the last phase of its life and is shedding material in winds. These winds are running into gas that the star lost before it entered this giant phase, creating a shockwave.