October 21, 2026
Another trip around the Sun. A whole sky of possibilities.
Birthday · October 21, 2026
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published October 21, 2026. Credit: Louis Leroux-Géré, Thibault Rouillée, Vincent Martin, Cédric de Decker (Starfront Observatories). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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Jinkies, look at all those ghosts! It took 100 hours of observation and a special oxygen filter for today’s image to capture three faint nebulas hidden in the Cassiopeia constellation. IC 59 and IC 63, the original Ghosts of Cassiopeia, haunt the region near multi-star system γ Cassiopeia. Energetic light from γ Cassiopeia causes the hydrogen gas in IC 59 and 63 to glow red. Their dust reflects and scatters some blue-ish white starlight. Newly discovered Objects 1, 2, and 3 appear as blue phantoms, revealing the presence of ionized oxygen. But ionized by what? Like at the bow of a speeding boat, γ Cassiopeia may be piling up material as the system moves through interstellar gas and dust. It follows that Object 3 may be the compressed and heated oxygen of that bow shock. Object 1 could be a planetary nebula if a central white dwarf is identified. The origins of these astronomical apparitions remain a mystery to be solved.
Image credit: Louis Leroux-Géré, Thibault Rouillée, Vincent Martin, Cédric de Decker (Starfront Observatories)
Explore October 21 in other years · 32 APOD entries, 1995–2026
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