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.

                              2023 September 4
   [2]Red glowing gas is seen before a dark starfield. On the upper right
   is a complicated filamentary nebula in blue and red. On the lower left
     is a simple circular nebula in blue. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                         Cygnus: Bubble and Crescent
                  Credit & Copyright: [3]Abdullah Al-Harbi

   Explanation: As stars die, they create clouds. Two stellar death clouds
   of gas and dust can be found toward the high-flying constellation of
   the Swan (Cygnus) as they [4]drift through rich star fields in the
   plane of our [5]Milky Way Galaxy. Caught here within the [6]telescopic
   field of view are the [7]Soap Bubble (lower left) and the [8]Crescent
   Nebula (upper right). Both were formed at the final phase in the life
   of a star. Also known as NGC 6888, the Crescent Nebula was shaped as
   its bright, central massive [9]Wolf-Rayet star, WR 136, shed its outer
   envelope in a strong stellar wind. Burning through fuel at a prodigious
   rate, WR 136 is near the end of [10]a short life that should finish in
   a spectacular [11]supernova explosion. [12]Discovered in 2013, the Soap
   Bubble Nebula is likely a [13]planetary nebula, the final shroud of a
   lower mass, long-lived, Sun-like star destined to become a slowly
   cooling white dwarf. Both stellar nebulas are about 5,000
   [14]light-years distant, with the larger Crescent Nebula [15]spanning
   about 25 light-years across. Within a few million years, both will
   likely have dispersed.

   Your Sky Surprise: [16]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                 (post 1995)
                     Tomorrow's picture: blue supermoon
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    Authors & editors: [28]Robert Nemiroff ([29]MTU) & [30]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([31]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [32]Specific rights apply.
              [33]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC,
                         [37]NASA Science Activation
                           & [38]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/CrescentBubble_AlHarbi_5732.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/a_alharbi97/
   4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150819.html
   5. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html
   6. https://www.instagram.com/p/CvNSVbhsXYs/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150113.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210617.html
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf–Rayet_star
  10. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-view-wolf-rayet-stars-intense-and-short-lived
  11. https://youtu.be/wymMn-SmALY
  12. http://www.starimager.com/Image Gallery Pages/Hydrogen Alpha Images/ic 1318_AP_8 pane mosaic_bubble nebula.htm
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
  14. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  15. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1170788685/photo/jumping-cat.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=_Ot_m-qULa-AS2ueDMH8Qc4vu8jdsNso2hzIxsVGjTw=
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230903.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  21. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  26. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230904
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230905.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  31. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  38. http://www.mtu.edu/