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 February 3
     [2]A dense starfield surrounds a blue and red nebula that stretches
    from the lower left to the upper right. The outer parts of the nebula
    are blue and filamentary, while the innermost part is red and bright.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Red Spider Planetary Nebula from Webb
   Image Credit: [3]ESA/Webb, [4]NASA & [5]CSA, [6]J. H. Kastner ([7]RIT)

   Explanation: Oh what a [8]tangled web a [9]planetary nebula can weave.
   The [10]Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that
   can result when a [11]normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a
   [12]white dwarf star. Officially tagged [13]NGC [14]6537, this
   two-lobed symmetric [15]planetary nebula houses one of the [16]hottest
   white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of a [17]binary star
   system. Internal [18]winds flowing out from the central stars, have
   been measured in excess of 1,000 kilometers per second. These [19]winds
   expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause waves of
   hot [20]gas and [21]dust to collide. [22]Atoms caught in these
   colliding shocks radiate light shown in the [23]featured false-color
   [24]infrared picture by the [25]James Webb Space Telescope. The [26]Red
   Spider Nebula lies toward the [27]constellation of the Archer
   ([28]Sagittarius). Its distance is not well known but has been
   [29]estimated by some to be about 4,000 [30]light-years.

                     Tomorrow's picture: ringing galaxy
     __________________________________________________________________

      [31]< | [32]Archive | [33]Submissions | [34]Index | [35]Search |
   [36]Calendar | [37]RSS | [38]Education | [39]About APOD | [40]Discuss |
                                    [41]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [42]Robert Nemiroff ([43]MTU) & [44]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([45]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [46]Specific rights apply.
            [47]NASA Web Privacy, [48]Accessibility, [49]Notices;
                A service of: [50]ASD at [51]NASA / [52]GSFC,
                         [53]NASA Science Activation
                           & [54]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/RedSpider_Webb_1280.jpg
   3. https://esawebb.org/
   4. https://www.nasa.gov/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/
   6. https://www.rit.edu/directory/jhkpci-joel-kastner
   7. https://www.rit.edu/
   8. http://www.bartleby.com/100/338.25.html
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap980106.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251207.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000910.html
  13. http://spider.seds.org/ngc/ngc.html
  14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Spider_Nebula
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/planetary_nebulae.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/binary_stars.html
  18. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/what-is-the-solar-wind/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200121.html
  20. http://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom
  23. https://esawebb.org/images/potm2510a/
  24. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves/
  25. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
  26. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000A&A...362L..17P/abstract
  27. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/
  28. http://www.astronomical.org/constellations/sgr.html
  29. https://media.tenor.com/x6G8GKIQPcUAAAAe/thinking-cat.png
  30. https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-a-light-year/
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260202.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  37. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  40. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260203
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260204.html
  42. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  43. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  44. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  45. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  46. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  49. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  50. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/
  52. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  53. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  54. http://www.mtu.edu/