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. 2026 January 7 [2]A starfield surrounds a giant red nebula. The nebula has so many winding filaments that it has been dubbed the Spaghetti Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Saverio Ferretti Explanation: Its popular nickname is the Spaghetti Nebula. Officially cataloged as [4]Simeis 147 and Sharpless 2-240, it is easy to get lost following the looping and twisting filaments of this intricate [5]supernova remnant. [6]Seen toward the boundary of the [7]constellations of the Bull ([8]Taurus) and the Charioteer ([9]Auriga), the impressive gas structure covers nearly 3 [10]degrees on the sky, equivalent to 6 [11]full moons. That's about 150 [12]light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. The [13]supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from this powerful stellar explosion first reached the [14]Earth when woolly mammoths roamed free. Besides the expanding remnant, this [15]cosmic catastrophe left behind a [16]pulsar, a fast-spinning [17]neutron star that is the remnant of the original star's core. The [18]featured image was captured last month from [19]Forca Canapine, [20]Italy. Portal Universe: [21]Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: hidden galaxy in the giraffe __________________________________________________________________ [22]< | [23]Archive | [24]Submissions | [25]Index | [26]Search | [27]Calendar | [28]RSS | [29]Education | [30]About APOD | [31]Discuss | [32]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell ([36]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [37]Specific rights apply. [38]NASA Web Privacy, [39]Accessibility, [40]Notices; A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/Simeis147_Ferritti_4112.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/sferretti70/ 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeis_147 5. https://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/supernovas.html 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101220.html 7. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/ 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_(constellation) 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga 10. https://www.1728.org/angsize.htm 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200925.html 12. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 13. https://youtu.be/wymMn-SmALY 14. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/ 15. https://www.shutterstock.com/shutterstock/videos/3486937625/thumb/1.jpg?ip=x480 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170501.html 18. https://www.instagram.com/p/DSejBECjDMQ/ 19. https://youtu.be/z-Rhyk0mzNg 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260106.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 28. https://apod.com/feed.rss 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 31. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260107 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260108.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 39. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 45. http://www.mtu.edu/