MSGID: 1:153/757.0 10eb18c1   
   TZUTC: -0700   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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 June 6   
      
                          NGC 6302: The Butterfly Nebula   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby   
      
      Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night   
      sky are often given the names of flowers or insects, and its whopping 3   
      light-year wingspan, NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated   
      surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of the   
      planetary nebula is transforming into a white dwarf star, becoming   
      exceptionally hot, and shining brightly in ultraviolet light. The   
      central star is hidden from direct view by a torus of dust, but its   
      energetic ultraviolet light ionizes atoms in the nebula. In this sharp,   
      telescopic view composed with narrowband image data, the ionized   
      hydrogen and doubly ionized oxygen atoms are shown in their   
      characteristic red and blue-green hues to reveal a stunning complex of   
      knots and filaments within the nebula's wing-like bipolar outflows. NGC   
      6302 lies about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct   
      constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius).   
      
                  Tomorrow's picture: perseverance with ingenuity   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
                   NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 19/10 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 134/100 153/135 143   
   SEEN-BY: 153/148 151 757 6809 7083 7715 154/110 218/700 840 221/1   
   SEEN-BY: 221/6 360 226/30 227/114 229/110 114 206 307 317 400 426   
   SEEN-BY: 229/428 470 664 700 705 240/1120 266/512 291/111 301/1 113   
   SEEN-BY: 301/812 320/219 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58   
   SEEN-BY: 460/256 1124 633/280 712/848 902/26 5020/400 1042 8912 5054/30   
   SEEN-BY: 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426