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Credit & Copyright: Data acquisition: Sy Ming Wong; Processing: Guangyan
Gao
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
Explanation:
Could the Little Mermaid
turn into stardust instead of seafoam?
It would seem so in this beautiful nebula.
The featured image shows the Mermaid Nebula, also known as
the Betta Fish Nebula, which is part of the G296.5+10.0 Supernova
Remnant.
The blue color visible here originates from doubly
ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen
gas.
Estimated
to be located a few thousand light-years away and about 10,000 years old, this nebula
was formed when a massive star exploded
as a supernova.
It left behind a peculiar
pulsar,
a young radio-quiet neutron star that spins around about twice
every second.
The bright stars shown in the image are unassociated with the nebula.
The pulsar can be detected in the X-rays
but it does
not have a confirmed detection in the optical (visible
light) so far.
As a result, the pulsar itself is not visible in this image.
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: supernova remnant
Publications with words: supernova remnant
See also:
- APOD: 2026 June 2 Á The Vela Supernova Remnant
- Sharpless 249 and the Jellyfish Nebula
- Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
- APOD: 2026 January 19 Á CTB 1: The Medulla Nebula
- APOD: 2026 January 7 Á Simeis 147: The Spaghetti Nebula Supernova Remnant
- APOD: 2025 October 1 Á NGC 6960: The Witchs Broom Nebula
- APOD: 2025 June 9 Á Between Scylla and Charybdis: A Double Cosmic Discovery