APOD: 2026 September 29 – Sh2-188: The Shrimp Nebula
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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 29 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Sh2-188: The Shrimp […]
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Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: What causes the swirl in the Shrimp Nebula? Its high speed is likely. What is sure is that Sh2-188 is one of the larger planetary nebulas on the night sky, by angular size , spanning about half the diameter of the Moon . Moreover, the white-dwarf core — leftover from the Sun -like star that shed its outer atmosphere — is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, creating a bow shock most visible on the upper left that is similar to a boat plowing through water . Although faint, the Shrimp Nebula glows also by compressing and brightening gas on its leading edge. The featured image was taken in the light of hydrogen , sulfur, and oxygen by a backyard telescope in Krakow , Poland and then digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula ‘s true colors.
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