January 7, 2026
Here’s to you, and all the wonder still ahead.
Birthday · January 7, 2026
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published January 7, 2026. Credit: Saverio Ferretti. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant
Original APOD · January 7, 2026 ↗Read the original APOD for the astronomer’s explanation and full image credits. Its text is preserved in the archive as published.
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Its popular nickname is the Spaghetti Nebula. Officially cataloged as Simeis 147 and Sharpless 2-240, it is easy to get lost following the looping and twisting filaments of this intricate supernova remnant. Seen toward the boundary of the constellations of the Bull (Taurus) and the Charioteer (Auriga), the impressive gas structure covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky, equivalent to 6 full moons. That's about 150 light-years at the stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years. The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000 years, meaning light from this powerful stellar explosion first reached the Earth when woolly mammoths roamed free. Besides the expanding remnant, this cosmic catastrophe left behind a pulsar, a fast-spinning neutron star that is the remnant of the original star's core. The featured image was captured last month from Forca Canapine, Italy. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator
Image credit: Saverio Ferretti
Explore January 7 in other years · 31 APOD entries, 1996–2026
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