Radio image of the W4 superbubble, a chimney-like structure venting hot gas from the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. The image shows a vast cloud of ionized gas, with a young open star cluster (OCl 352) at its base, believed to be the source of the expanding gas. The dark area extending upwards represents the "chimney" itself, funneling the gas. This structure is located approximately 6500 light-years from Earth and spans 250 light-years.

Astronomy Picture from 07/02/2000

The W4 Chimney

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000207.html


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