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.

                                2023 August 5
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                      NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula
                 Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Dong Liang

   Explanation: [5]This pretty nebula lies some 1,500 light-years away,
   its shape and color in this telescopic view reminiscent of a robin's
   egg. The cosmic cloud spans about 3 light-years, nestled securely
   within the boundaries of the southern constellation Fornax.
   [6]Recognized as a planetary nebula, egg-shaped NGC 1360 doesn't
   represent a beginning though. Instead it corresponds to a brief and
   final phase in the evolution of an [7]aging star. [8]In fact, visible
   at the center of the nebula, the central star of NGC 1360 is known to
   be a binary star system likely consisting of two evolved [9]white dwarf
   stars, less massive but much hotter than the Sun. Their intense and
   otherwise invisible ultraviolet radiation has stripped away electrons
   from the atoms in their mutually surrounding gaseous shroud. The
   predominant blue-green hue of NGC 1360 seen here is the strong emission
   produced as electrons recombine with [10]doubly ionized oxygen atoms.

                    Tomorrow's picture: supernova remnant
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    Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([25]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply.
              [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC
                         [31]NASA Science Activation
                           & [32]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2308/ngc1360_v2.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/yadimisi2010/
   5. https://www.astrobin.com/0qzjt9/
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2395.html
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution#Mature_stars
   8. https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.10891
   9. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/dwarfs2.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulium
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230804.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230805
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230806.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  31. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  32. http://www.mtu.edu/