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.

                              2024 February 21
    [2]A red nebula in a dark starry sky is seen above a rocky peak. The
   nebula appears similar to a flying bird. Please see the explanation for
                         more detailed information.

                     Seagull Nebula over Pinnacles' Peak
               Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Dheera Venkatraman

   Explanation: The bird is bigger than the peak. Nicknamed for its
   [4]avian shape, the [5]Seagull Nebula is an [6]emission nebula on the
   night sky that is [7]vast, spanning an angle over five times the
   diameter of the [8]full moon and over 200 [9]light years. The head of
   the nebula is catalogued as [10]IC 2177, and the star cluster under its
   right wing is catalogued as NGC 2343. Consisting of mostly red-glowing
   [11]hydrogen gas, the [12]Seagull Nebula incorporates some dust lanes
   and is forming [13]stars. The peak over which this Seagull [14]seems to
   soar occurs at [15]Pinnacles National Park in [16]California, [17]USA.
   The [18]featured image is a composite of long exposure images of the
   background sky and short exposure images of the foreground, all taken
   consecutively with the same camera and from the same location.

              Explore Your Universe: [19]Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([34]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn; [35]Specific rights apply.
              [36]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC,
                         [40]NASA Science Activation
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2402/SeagullPinnacles_Venkatraman_2051.jpg
   3. https://www.instagram.com/dheeranet/
   4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avian#Adjective
   5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230119.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240123.html
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220612.html
   9. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_2177
  11. https://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180316.html
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/
  14. https://i1.sndcdn.com/avatars-000031354923-a6ixw8-t500x500.jpg
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnacles_National_Park
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
  18. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXdL1YndQi/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240220.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  26. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240221
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240222.html
  31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  40. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/