Sh2-308 Dolphin Head Nebula

The Dolphin Head nebula, also designated as Sharpless 308 is an H-II region located roughly 5200 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Canis Major. This cosmic bubble has been created from the interstellar matter blown away from the Wolf-Rayet star at the center of the nebula. Wolf-Rayet stars typically have over 20 times the mass of our Sun and considered to be in a brief Supernova phase.

This image was recently shortlisted in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021 competition hosted by Royal Museums Greenwich, UK and has also been nominated for the People's Choice Award in the same competition.

Constellation Canis Major

Distance about 4,500 light-years from Earth

Size about 60 light-years across