Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2025 May 14 [2]A dark starfield highlights a blue and pink nebula in its center. Some dark lanes of dust are seen inside nebula's center. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Andrea Iorio, [4]Vikas Chander & [5]ShaRA Team Explanation: [6]This pretty nebula lies some 1,500 light-years away, its shape and color in this telescopic view reminiscent of a [7]robin's egg. The cosmic cloud spans about 3 [8]light-years, nestled securely within the boundaries of the southern constellation of the Furnace ([9]Fornax). Recognized as a [10]planetary nebula, egg-shaped [11]NGC 1360 doesn't represent a beginning, [12]though. Instead, it corresponds to a brief and final phase in the evolution of an [13]aging star. [14]In fact, visible at the center of the nebula, the central star of NGC 1360 is known to be a [15]binary star system likely consisting of two evolved [16]white dwarf stars, less massive but much hotter than [17]the Sun. Their intense and otherwise invisible [18]ultraviolet radiation has stripped away [19]electrons from the atoms in their mutually surrounding gaseous shroud. The [20]blue-green hue inside of NGC 1360 seen here is the strong emission produced as electrons recombine with [21]doubly ionized oxygen atoms. Celestial Surprise: [22]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Tomorrow's picture: pluto below __________________________________________________________________ [23]< | [24]Archive | [25]Submissions | [26]Index | [27]Search | [28]Calendar | [29]RSS | [30]Education | [31]About APOD | [32]Discuss | [33]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell ([37]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply. [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices; A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC, [45]NASA Science Activation & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2505/NGC1360_Chander_4310.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/a_glimpse_of_universe/ 4. https://www.instagram.com/vikaschanderastrophotography/ 5. https://www.instagram.com/shara_project 6. https://www.instagram.com/p/DE-YG3CouEd/ 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_egg_blue#/media/File:American_Robin_Eggs_in_Nest.jpg 8. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/ 9. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/constellations/fornax.html 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1360 12. https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1h4ato/thinking_cat_is_thinking/#lightbox 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution#Mature_stars 14. https://arxiv.org/abs/1703.10891 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000910.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221106.html 18. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves/ 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron 20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_egg_blue 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulium 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250513.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 29. https://apod.com/feed.rss 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250514 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250515.html 34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 46. http://www.mtu.edu/