April 28, 2024
There are stars whose light will never reach us, worlds we will never touch, mysteries we may never solve.
Rings Around the Ring Nebula
Birthday · April 28, 2024
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APOD published April 28, 2024. Credit: Robert Gendler. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The Ring Nebula (M57) is more complicated than it appears through a small telescope. The easily visible central ring is about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep exposure - a collaborative effort combining data from three different large telescopes - explores the looping filaments of glowing gas extending much farther from the nebula's central star. This composite image includes red light emitted by hydrogen as well as visible and infrared light. The Ring Nebula is an elongated planetary nebula, a type of nebula created when a Sun-like star evolves to throw off its outer atmosphere and become a white dwarf star. The Ring Nebula is about 2,500 light-years away toward the musical constellation Lyra. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
Image credit: Robert Gendler