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                           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.   
      
                                 2025 February 18   
       A tall starscape appears to have two bright nebulas. The large one at   
       the top is colored mostly red and is known as the Seagull Nebula. The   
       small one near the bottom right is known as Thor's Helmet. Please see   
                  the explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                         Thor's Helmet versus the Seagull   
      Image Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Martino, Adrien Soto, Louis Leroux &   
                                    Yann Sainty   
      
      Explanation: Seen as a seagull and a duck, these nebulae are not the   
      only cosmic clouds to evoke images of flight. But both are winging   
      their way across this broad celestial landscape, spanning almost 7   
      degrees across planet Earth's night sky toward the constellation of the   
      Big Dog (Canis Major). The expansive Seagull (top center) is itself   
      composed of two major cataloged emission nebulas. Brighter NGC 2327   
      forms the head with the more diffuse IC 2177 as the wings and body.   
      Impressively, the Seagull's wingspan would correspond to about 250   
      light-years at the nebula's estimated distance of 3,800 light-years. At   
      the lower right, the Duck appears much more compact and would span only   
      about 50 light-years given its 15,000 light-year distance estimate.   
      Blown by energetic winds from an extremely massive, hot star near its   
      center, the Duck nebula is cataloged as NGC 2359. Of course, the Duck's   
      thick body and winged appendages also lend it the slightly more   
      dramatic popular moniker, Thor's Helmet.   
      
                      Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator   
                      Tomorrow's picture: star system forming   
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