                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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 February 2
   A complex nebula is shown that is mostly blue and red on the left half
    and mostly brown on the right. Several bright stars are visible, and
    many filaments run through, in particular on brown dust filamnents on
        the image right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                        Orion: The Running Man Nebula
          Image Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons (Robservatory)

   Explanation: What part of Orion is this? Just north of the famous Orion
   Nebula is a picturesque star forming region in Orion's Sword that
   contains a lot of intricate dust -- some of which appears blue because
   it reflects the light of bright embedded stars. The region's popular
   name is the Running Man Nebula because, looked at from the right, part
   of the brown dust appears to be running legs. Cataloged as Sharpless
   279, the reflection nebula is not only part of the constellation of
   Orion, but part of the greater Orion molecular cloud complex. Light
   from the Running Man's bright stars, including 42 Orionis, the bright
   star closest to the featured image center, is slowly destroying and
   reshaping the surrounding dust, which will likely be completely gone in
   about 10 million years. The nebula spans about 15 light years and lies
   about 1,500 light years away.

                 Jigsaw Nebula: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
                       Tomorrow's picture: spider webb
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

