Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2021 June 17
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                        NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula
        Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Joe Navara, [5]Glenn Clouder,
                             [6]Russell Discombe

   Explanation: NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a about 25
   light-years across [7]blown by winds from its central, bright, massive
   star. A triumvirate of astroimagers ( [8]Joe, [9]Glenn, [10]Russell)
   created this sharp portrait of the cosmic bubble. Their telescopic
   collaboration collected over 30 hours of narrow band image data
   isolating light from hydrogen and oxygen [11]atoms. The oxygen atoms
   produce the blue-green hue that seems to enshroud the detailed folds
   and filaments. Visible within the nebula, NGC 6888's central star is
   classified as a [12]Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136). The star is shedding its
   outer envelope in a strong [13]stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of
   the Sun's mass every 10,000 years. The nebula's complex structures are
   likely the result of this strong wind interacting with material ejected
   in an earlier phase. Burning fuel at a prodigious rate and [14]near the
   end of its stellar life this star should ultimately go out with a bang
   in a spectacular [15]supernova explosion. Found in the [16]nebula rich
   constellation Cygnus, [17]NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light-years away.

                 Tomorrow's picture: The devil didn't do it.
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    Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([32]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC
                           & [38]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2106/CrescentHOOcombinedFinalimage.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNDev7nGb-tmzQtFyJ3hjqQ
   5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrDA8_R7ORGJ_bZaTZQJ_WQ
   6. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0h5s9anrqezcPfMkq6w0gw
   7. https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2000/news-2000-23.html
   8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ktNRr533A
   9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1igpxZfTfc
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNzIZPYjIdA
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060324.html
  12. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~pberlind/atlas/htmls/wrstars.html
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_wind
  14. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/ngc6888/
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf–Rayet_star#Supernovae
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151204.html
  17. http://oneminuteastronomer.com/5995/crescent-nebula-ngc-6888/
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210616.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210617
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210618.html
  29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  38. http://www.mtu.edu/