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 May 28
     [2]A white nebula over a black background with a bright star in the
                                   center.

                      NGC 1514: The Crystal Ball Nebula
                    Image Credit: [3]International Gemini
   Observatory/[4]NOIRLab/[5]NSF/[6]AURA; Image Processing: J. Miller & M.
   Rodriguez ([7]International Gemini Observatory/[8]NSF NOIRLab), [9]T.A.
     Rector ([10]University of Alaska Anchorage/[11]NSF NOIRLab), D. de
                  Martin & [12]M. Zamani ([13]NSF NOIRLab)
   Text: [14]Cecilia Chirenti ([15]NASA [16]GSFC, [17]UMCP, [18]CRESST II)

   Explanation: What do you see in this crystal ball? The [19]featured
   image shows [20]NGC 1514, known as the [21]Crystal Ball Nebula,
   observed by the [22]Gemini North telescope on [23]Maunakea, in
   [24]Hawai'i. NGC 1514 is 1,500 light-years away and was discovered by
   [25]William Herschel in 1790. This [26]planetary nebula is formed when
   a star becomes a [27]red giant and ejects its outer gas layers. The
   ejected shell of gas is heated up by the core of the star to
   temperatures hotter than the surface of our [28]Sun: that makes the gas
   shine, creating [29]beautiful images like this one. The slightly
   asymmetrical shape of the Crystal Ball Nebula reveals a secret: the
   bright star in the center has a companion. As the two stars orbit each
   other with a period of about [30]nine years, they shape the gas around
   them. In about [31]10,000 - 25,000 years the nebula will be
   [32]dissipated by their stellar winds.

                       Tomorrow's picture: a fancy hat
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    Authors & editors: [44]Robert Nemiroff ([45]MTU) & [46]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([47]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [48]Specific rights apply.
            [49]NASA Web Privacy, [50]Accessibility, [51]Notices;
                A service of: [52]ASD at [53]NASA / [54]GSFC,
                         [55]NASA Science Activation
                           & [56]Michigan Tech. U.

References

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  12. https://mahdizamani.com/about
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  14. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.chirenti
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  18. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
  19. https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2613/
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250415.html
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1514
  22. https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-north/
  23. https://hilo.hawaii.edu/maunakea/
  24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiʻi_(island)
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  27. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/types/#red-giants
  28. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030614.html
  30. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2017/04/aa30700-17.pdf
  31. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-beautiful-death-dying-star-crystal.html
  32. https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1544954412-78da2cfa1a0c
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  42. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260528
  43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260529.html
  44. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  45. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  46. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  47. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
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  56. http://www.mtu.edu/