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 March 9
      [2]The featured image shows a starfield surrounding a nebula that
    resembles the human brain. A blue outer oval has a bright nebulosity
      inside. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                 The Cranium Nebula from the Webb Telescope
     Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]CSA, [6]STScI; Processing: [7]J.
                            DePasquale ([8]STScI)

   Explanation: What's going on inside the head of this nebula? Dubbed the
   Exposed [9]Cranium Nebula for its similarity to the [10]human brain,
   what created the nebula remains a mystery. One thought is that the
   Cranium Nebula, also known as PMR 1, is a [11]planetary nebula
   surrounding a [12]white dwarf star. In this mode, the outer atmosphere
   was expelled when the original [13]Sun-like star ran out of [14]central
   nuclear fuel and contracted. A competing thought is that the central
   star is much more massive, possibly a [15]Wolf-Rayet star, that is
   ejecting gas and [16]dust via turbulent [17]stellar winds. Adding to
   the [18]intrigue is the dark vertical central division and the thin
   outer gaseous shell. The [19]featured image was taken by the [20]Webb
   Space Telescope in [21]mid- [22]infrared light, while a second image,
   included as a rollover, is in near-[23]infrared. Future observations
   may reveal if this brainy system will quietly just fade from view or,
   many years from now, suddenly erupt in a powerful [24]supernova.

                    Tomorrow's picture: telescope lasers
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [40]Specific rights apply.
            [41]NASA Web Privacy, [42]Accessibility, [43]Notices;
                A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC,
                         [47]NASA Science Activation
                           & [48]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2603/Cranium_Webb_8832.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
   6. https://www.stsci.edu/
   7. https://jdepasquale.com/
   8. https://www.stsci.edu/
   9. https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-examines-cranium-nebula/
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_brain#/media/File:Visible_Human_head_slice.jpg
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/pj-white-dwarf-stars/
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution#Mid-sized_stars
  14. https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/dwarfs1.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250203.html
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/dust-in-the-stellar-wind-a-cosmological-primer/
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html
  18. https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/sf84rb/does_anyone_elses_dog_tilt_their_head_when_they/#lightbox
  19. https://esawebb.org/images/weic2605a/
  20. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
  21. https://celliant.com/pulse/all/infrared-light/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves/
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared
  24. https://youtu.be/wymMn-SmALY
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260308.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260309
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260310.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  44. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  47. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  48. http://www.mtu.edu/