Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


APOD: 2026 April 01 Á The Claw and Bubble Nebulae
<< Yesterday 1.04.2026
APOD: 2026 April 01 Á The Claw and Bubble Nebulae
Credit & Copyright: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)
Explanation: What unexpected things do you see when you look up at the night sky? TodayÁs image resembles an abstract painting, with large swaths of color strewn across a cosmic canvas seemingly without design. Despite the image's abstract nature, the human mind finds patterns, identifying a large claw reaching up towards a floating bubble. Embedded within these seemingly random structures are the physical laws that govern how light and matter interact. The Claw (Sh2-157) and Bubble (NGC 7635) Nebulae glow colors that are mapped to the yellow and blue shown, indicating the presence of hydrogen and oxygen ionized by the intense light emitted from stars several times the mass of the Sun. This image depicts both the chaos and structure of astronomical processes, showing that a common thread between art and science is to look for the unexpected.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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& Michigan Tech. U.

Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: NGC 7635 - Bubble nebula
Publications with words: NGC 7635 - Bubble nebula
See also:
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