00:00Hey, want to see something cool?
00:02This incredible view of the Crescent Nebula was captured by astrophotographer Kevin Boardman
00:07as it glowed 4,700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus, with a ticking
00:11time bomb lurking at its core.
00:13Caveat, that time bomb does have quite a long fuse.
00:16Boardman's image represents a chaotic chapter in the life of the colossal wolf-riot star
00:22WR136, which shines as a bright point of blue light at the center of the deep space vista.
00:27The 25-light-year-wide bubble formed from stellar material cast off by the star during
00:31its transformation into a red giant, and was later disrupted by shockwaves from fast-moving
00:37stellar winds which helped form the mesmerizing filamentary structure we see today.
00:41Officially designated NGC 688A or Corbwell 27, the vast cosmic structure is also sometimes
00:48known as the Crescent Nebula, owing to its resemblance to a crescent moon when observed in certain
00:52wavelengths of light.
00:53Boardman was able to capture spectacular detail in the nebula by imaging it with a set
00:58of narrowband filters over 16 hours and 18 minutes spread across 5 nights in late July
01:03earlier this year.
01:04Each filter is designed to let through specific wavelengths of light, allowing scientists and
01:09astrophotographers to observe the glows emitted by specific gases as they shine in the depths
01:13of space.
01:14In the image, orange-red H-alpha reveals the tangled filaments while blue cyan outlines emissions
01:20from doubly ionized oxygen around the shell, Boardman said in an email to space.com.
01:24The nebula is expected to change dramatically in 100,000 years' time, when the Wolf-Rayet
01:29star at its core ends its life in a dramatic supernova explosion which will reshape and compress
01:34the nebula, making it glow far brighter in Earth's sky.
01:37While we're waiting for it to explode, why not head on over to space.com for more stunning
01:42astrophotos and to stay up to date with all the latest news in astronomy and spaceflight.
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