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. 2021 June 17 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Joe Navara, [5]Glenn Clouder, [6]Russell Discombe Explanation: NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a about 25 light-years across [7]blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. A triumvirate of astroimagers ( [8]Joe, [9]Glenn, [10]Russell) created this sharp portrait of the cosmic bubble. Their telescopic collaboration collected over 30 hours of narrow band image data isolating light from hydrogen and oxygen [11]atoms. The oxygen atoms produce the blue-green hue that seems to enshroud the detailed folds and filaments. Visible within the nebula, NGC 6888's central star is classified as a [12]Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136). The star is shedding its outer envelope in a strong [13]stellar wind, ejecting the equivalent of the Sun's mass every 10,000 years. The nebula's complex structures are likely the result of this strong wind interacting with material ejected in an earlier phase. Burning fuel at a prodigious rate and [14]near the end of its stellar life this star should ultimately go out with a bang in a spectacular [15]supernova explosion. Found in the [16]nebula rich constellation Cygnus, [17]NGC 6888 is about 5,000 light-years away. Tomorrow's picture: The devil didn't do it. __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC & [38]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2106/CrescentHOOcombinedFinalimage.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNDev7nGb-tmzQtFyJ3hjqQ 5. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrDA8_R7ORGJ_bZaTZQJ_WQ 6. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0h5s9anrqezcPfMkq6w0gw 7. https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2000/news-2000-23.html 8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ktNRr533A 9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1igpxZfTfc 10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNzIZPYjIdA 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060324.html 12. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~pberlind/atlas/htmls/wrstars.html 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_wind 14. http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/ngc6888/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf–Rayet_star#Supernovae 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151204.html 17. http://oneminuteastronomer.com/5995/crescent-nebula-ngc-6888/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210616.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210617 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210618.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. http://www.mtu.edu/