Alpha Camelopardalis: A runaway star creating stunning cosmic bow wave

The graceful arcing bow wave or bow shock seen in this celestial landscape is produced by a runaway star Alpha Camelopardalis that lies about 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Camelopardalis. Runaway stars are stars that move through space at unusually high velocities compared to their surrounding stars.

The supergiant star is estimated to be about 25-30 times as massive as the Sun, 5 times hotter (30,000 kelvins), and over 500,000 times brighter than the Sun. The bow shock is situated approximately 10 light-years away from the star itself.

What makes Alpha Cam stand out is its remarkable speed. It moves through space at a velocity of over 60 kilometres per second, causing the interstellar material in its path to compress and create a graceful arcing bow wave or bow shock. The bow shock is situated approximately 10 light-years away from the star itself.

Astronomers believe that Alpha Cam was likely flung out of a nearby cluster of young hot stars due to gravitational interactions with other members of the cluster or the supernova explosion of a massive companion star. The star also produces a strong stellar wind, which further shapes the surrounding interstellar material.

This picture was featured as NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on April 28.