October 28, 2025
Another trip around the Sun. A whole sky of possibilities.
Birthday · October 28, 2025
A little universe, just for you
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published October 28, 2025. Credit: Francis Bozon-Gangloff. 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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Can you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), NGC 6995, known informally as the Bat Nebula, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon. That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth. In the composite of image data recorded through several narrow band filters, emission from hydrogen atoms is shown in red and strong emission from oxygen atoms is shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch's Broom Nebula.
Image credit: Francis Bozon-Gangloff
Explore October 28 in other years · 31 APOD entries, 1995–2025
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