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 June 11
   [2]A delicate nebula in shades of blue and purple shines in front of a
      dark field of stars. The shape of the nebula resembles a mermaid.

                    The Mermaid Nebula Supernova Remnant
    Image Credit & Copyright: Data acquisition: Sy Ming Wong; Processing:
                               [3]Guangyan Gao
     Text: [4]Cecilia Chirenti ([5]NASA [6]GSFC, [7]UMCP, [8]CRESST II)

   Explanation: Could the [9]Little Mermaid turn into stardust instead of
   seafoam? It would seem so in this beautiful [10]nebula. The
   [11]featured image shows the [12]Mermaid Nebula, also known as the
   Betta Fish Nebula, which is part of the G296.5+10.0 [13]Supernova
   Remnant. The blue color visible here originates from [14]doubly ionized
   oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by [15]hydrogen gas.
   [16]Estimated to be located a few thousand light-years away and about
   10,000 years old, this nebula was formed when a massive star
   [17]exploded as a supernova. It left behind a [18]peculiar [19]pulsar,
   a young radio-quiet neutron star that spins around about [20]twice
   every second. The bright stars shown in the image are unassociated with
   the nebula. The pulsar can be detected in the [21]X-rays but it
   [22]does not have a confirmed detection in the optical ([23]visible
   light) so far. As a result, the pulsar itself is not visible in this
   image.

                      Tomorrow's picture: what's next?
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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2606/Mermaid.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/astrosymmetry/
   4. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.chirenti
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
   7. https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/cecilia-chirenti
   8. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stories/quick-reads/decoding-nebulae/
  11. http://app.astrobin.com/i/ve35wq
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240918.html
  13. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/supernova_remnants.html
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_ionized_oxygen
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-alpha
  16. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/528/2/2095/7511133
  17. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20413/
  18. https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1743046678527-b9d3f7db5eae
  19. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-behind-the-discoveries/hubble-pulsars/
  20. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/340640/pdf
  21. https://chandra.harvard.edu/field_guide.html
  22. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2011/01/aa14982-10.pdf
  23. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight/
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260610.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260611
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260612.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/