Independent Lucknow Astronomers Discover a Rare 'Bubblegum' Nebula

Two independent young astronomy researchers from Lucknow, Utkarsh Mishra and Sankalp Mohan, have discovered a new and rare nebula, a vast cloud of gas in space, in the constellation Monoceros. The pair have named it the Bubblegum Nebula, and their discovery has been published and recognised by the Journal of the American Astronomical Society.

Mishra said the initial identification dates back to 2021, when the team was studying narrowband images, deep-space photographs that isolate specific wavelengths of light, of the region. The object's brightness and structure looked different from typical nebulae, and years of further detailed examination followed before its existence was confirmed.

Sumit Srivastava, who mentored the study, said most nebulae glow because of hydrogen and sulphur gas, but the Bubblegum Nebula lacks both; its glow comes only from the emission of doubly ionised oxygen gas. The nebula lies about 5,870 light-years from Earth and measures more than 45 light-years across, meaning light would take more than 45 years to cross it from one end to the other.

Senior NASA scientists Howard E. Bond and Patrick M. are now studying the newly identified nebula, whose discovery has drawn the attention of astronomers around the world. Researchers say the finding could help in understanding processes linked to the life cycles of stars and supernova explosions, since nebulae form both where new stars are born and after some stars reach the final stages of their lives.

A detailed spectroscopic study, an analysis of the nebula's light to determine its composition, is now planned to help identify the exact source of its energy and what kind of astronomical structure it truly is.