Photograph
The Crescent Nebula (NGC 6888)
A cosmic bubble of glowing gas in the constellation Cygnus, located about 5,000 light-years away. The nebula is powered by the fierce stellar winds of the supergiant star WR 136 (a Wolf-Rayet star), which is violently shedding its outer layers. This fast wind collides with slower gas previously cast off by the star, compressing it into a complex, glowing shell that resembles a crescent moon or a celestial brain.
Beyond the frame
The star WR 136 is passing through a brief and turbulent stage of its life, losing enormous amounts of material in an exceptionally fast stellar wind. This wind catches up with slower layers expelled earlier and compresses them into a glowing shell. The Crescent is a visible record of different chapters in one star’s life—and a likely prelude to a future supernova.