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Home > Plowing Through the Galaxy

Plowing Through the Galaxy [1]

Alpha Camelopardalis, a giant star in the northern constellation Camelopardalis, the giraffe, rams through the galaxy in this false-color image from WISE, an infrared space telescope. The star blows a thick, strong wind of charged particles into space. The wind collides with clouds of gas around the star, forming a bow shock (the red arc) like that of a ship speeding through the ocean. The shock wave spans several light-years. [NASA/JPL/Caltech/WISE]

Shocking Star
Infrared image of Alpha Camelopardalis
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Source URL:https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/gallery/plowing-through-galaxy

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[1] https://legacy.stardate.org/astro-guide/gallery/plowing-through-galaxy