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.

                              2026 February 25
    [2]A starfield is shown with an unusual orange object in the center.
   Surrounding this object are blue rings and four thick jets. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                  The Egg Nebula from the Hubble Telescope
   Image Credit & Copyright: [3]ESA/Hubble & [4]NASA, [5]B. Balick ([6]U.
                                 Washington)

   Explanation: Ever wonder what it would look like to crack open the Sun?
   The [7]Egg Nebula, a dying [8]Sun-like star, can unscramble this
   question. [9]Pictured is a combination of several visible and
   [10]infrared images of the nebula (also known as [11]RAFGL 2688 or
   [12]CRL 2688) taken with the [13]Hubble Space Telescope. The star has
   shed its outer layers, and a [14]bright, hot core (or "yolk") now
   illuminates the milky "egg white" [15]shells of gas and dust
   surrounding the center. The central lobes and rings are structures of
   gas and dust recently ejected into space, with the dust being dense
   enough to block our view of the [16]stellar core. Light beams emanate
   from that [17]blocked core, escaping through holes carved in the older
   ejected material by newer, faster [18]jets expelled from the [19]star’s
   poles. Astronomers are [20]still trying to figure out what causes the
   disks, lobes, and jets during this short (only a few thousand years!)
   phase of the star’s [21]evolution, making this an egg-cellent image to
   study!

                       Tomorrow's picture: spiral webb
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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [37]Specific rights apply.
            [38]NASA Web Privacy, [39]Accessibility, [40]Notices;
                A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC,
                         [44]NASA Science Activation
                           & [45]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2602/Egg_Hubble_2048.jpg
   3. https://esahubble.org/
   4. https://www.nasa.gov/
   5. https://astro.washington.edu/people/bruce-balick
   6. https://astro.washington.edu/
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_Nebula
   8. https://www.stellarcatalog.com/stars.php?starcategory=104
   9. https://esahubble.org/images/heic2604a/
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/science-overview/science-explainers/infrared-astronomy/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960129.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230409.html
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-captures-light-show-around-rapidly-dying-star/
  14. https://astro4edu.org/resources/glossary/term/478/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221013.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231224.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221118.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130324.html
  19. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/solarpolarity.jpg
  20. https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/how-stellar-death-can-lead-to-twin-celestial-jets/
  21. https://starwalk.space/en/infographics/star-life-cycle
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260224.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260225
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260226.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  45. http://www.mtu.edu/