March 11, 2026
Here’s to you, and all the wonder still ahead.
Birthday · March 11, 2026
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published March 11, 2026. Credit: William Vrbasso. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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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Is this a cosmic monster ready to devour an unsuspecting galaxy? Thankfully, that is not the case. The red “monster” shown in the featured image is Cometary Globule CG 4, 1,300 light-years away in the Constellation Puppis. CG 4 is a molecular cloud, where hydrogen becomes cold enough to form molecules that can be brought together by gravity to create stars. The shape of CG 4 resembles that of a comet, but its head is 1.5 light-year in diameter and its tail is 8 light-years long; for comparison, the distance from the Earth to the sun is only 8 light-minutes. Astronomers believe that the tail of a cometary globule could have been shaped by a nearby supernova explosion or by irradiation from hot, massive stars. Indeed, CG 4 and other nearby globules point away from the Vela Supernova Remnant, at the center of the Gum Nebula. The edge-on spiral galaxy, ESO 257-19, is more than a hundred million light-years beyond CG 4, and is completely safe from the “monster”.
Image credit: William Vrbasso
Explore March 11 in other years · 31 APOD entries, 1996–2026
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