                        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.

                               2023 August 14
    An oval nebula is seen in false color. The nebula appears blue in the
   center, orange and red around the rim, and orange and purple filaments
      extending to the edge of the frame. Stars are seen throughout the
      frame. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                          The Ring Nebula from Webb
           Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, JWST; Processing: Zi Yang Kong

   Explanation: The Ring Nebula (M57), is more complicated than it appears
   through a small telescope. The easily visible central ring is about one
   light-year across, but this remarkable exposure by the James Webb Space
   Telescope explores this popular nebula with a deep exposure in infrared
   light. Strings of gas, like eyelashes around a cosmic eye, become
   evident around the Ring in this digitally enhanced featured image in
   assigned colors. These long filaments may be caused by shadowing of
   knots of dense gas in the ring from energetic light emitted within. The
   Ring Nebula is an elongated planetary nebula, a type of gas cloud
   created when a Sun-like star evolves to throw off its outer atmosphere
   to become a white dwarf star. The central oval in the Ring Nebula lies
   about 2,500 light-years away toward the musical constellation Lyra.

                     Tomorrow's picture: triple iced sky
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

