                        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.

                                2026 March 9
       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: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

   Explanation: What's going on inside the head of this nebula? Dubbed the
   Exposed Cranium Nebula for its similarity to the human brain, what
   created the nebula remains a mystery. One thought is that the Cranium
   Nebula, also known as PMR 1, is a planetary nebula surrounding a white
   dwarf star. In this mode, the outer atmosphere was expelled when the
   original Sun-like star ran out of central nuclear fuel and contracted.
   A competing thought is that the central star is much more massive,
   possibly a Wolf-Rayet star, that is ejecting gas and dust via turbulent
   stellar winds. Adding to the intrigue is the dark vertical central
   division and the thin outer gaseous shell. The featured image was taken
   by the Webb Space Telescope in mid- infrared light, while a second
   image, included as a rollover, is in near-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 supernova.

                    Tomorrow's picture: telescope lasers
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

