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. 2024 September 4 [2]The featured image shows a starfield with a two- colored nebula in the center. The nebula is colored mostly red and blue. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 6995: The Bat Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Mike Taivalmaa Explanation: Can you see the bat? It haunts [4]this cosmic close-up of the eastern [5]Veil Nebula. The [6]Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the [7]death explosion of a massive [8]star. While the Veil is roughly [9]circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan ([10]Cygnus), NGC 6995, known informally as the Bat Nebula, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size [11]of the Moon. That [12]translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from [13]planet Earth. In the composite of image data recorded through [14]narrow band filters, emission from [15]hydrogen atoms in the remnant is shown in red with strong emission from [16]oxygen atoms shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies [17]another seasonal apparition: [18]the Witch's Broom Nebula. Teachers & Students: [19]Ideas for using APOD in the classroom Tomorrow's picture: friendly spiral __________________________________________________________________ [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search | [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss | [30]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell ([34]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [35]Specific rights apply. [36]NASA Web Privacy, [37]Accessibility, [38]Notices; A service of: [39]ASD at [40]NASA / [41]GSFC, [42]NASA Science Activation & [43]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2409/Bat_Taivalnaa_4200.jpg 3. https://www.facebook.com/people/Tux-Forensics/100089369981227/ 4. https://www.astrobin.com/8goim6/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil_Nebula 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191031.html 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyntBsxoEkA 8. https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/universe_level1/stars.html 9. https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/trig-interactive-unit-circle.html 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cygnus_(constellation) 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130801.html 12. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/scale_distance.html 13. https://www.globe.gov/en 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071102.html 15. https://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml 16. https://youtu.be/5Q3ft8OsFaM 17. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1Kl4rNUTWCA/hqdefault.jpg 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180408.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apodclass.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240903.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 26. https://apod.com/feed.rss 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 29. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240904 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240905.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 37. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 39. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 42. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 43. http://www.mtu.edu/