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.

                               2025 August 22
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                            A Tale of Two Nebulae
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Kent Biggs

   Explanation: [5]This colorful telescopic view towards the musical
   northern constellation Lyra reveals the faint outer halos and brighter
   central ring-shaped region of M57, popularly known as the [6]Ring
   Nebula. To modern astronomers M57 is a well-known [7]planetary nebula.
   With a central ring about one light-year across, [8]M57 is definitely
   not a planet though, but the gaseous shroud of one of the Milky Way's
   [9]dying sun-like stars. Roughly the same apparent size as M57, the
   fainter and more often overlooked barred spiral galaxy at the left is
   IC 1296. In fact, [10]over 100 years ago IC 1296 would have been known
   as a [11]spiral nebula. By chance the pair are in the same field of
   view, and while they appear to have similar sizes they are actually
   very far apart. At a distance of a mere 2,000 light-years M57 is well
   within our own Milky Way galaxy. [12]Extragalactic IC 1296 (aka
   PGC62532) is more like 200,000,000 light-years distant. That's about
   100,000 times farther away than M57 but since they appear roughly
   similar in size, former spiral nebula IC 1296 must also be about
   100,000 [13]times larger than planetary nebula M57. Look closely at the
   sharp 21st century astroimage to spot even more distant background
   galaxies [14]scattered through the frame.

                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply.
            [31]NASA Web Privacy, [32]Accessibility, [33]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/2508/M57_LRGB_2K.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.kentbiggs.com/index.htm
   5. https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/planetaries/M57.htm
   6. https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01H82G0PP38P6PBXQ11BEVSMY0
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230418.html
   9. https://physics.weber.edu/palen/phsx1040/lectures/lplanneb.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200430.html
  11. https://www.e-education.psu.edu/astro801/content/l9_p2.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211106.html
  13. https://chandra.si.edu/photo/scale.html
  14. https://www.kentbiggs.com/images/planetaries/M57.htm
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250821.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250822
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250823.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  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/