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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.   
      
                                 2026 February 18   
        A starfield is shown filled with red glowing gas. On the right is a   
          blue-glowing complex nebula, while on the left there is a long   
      encircling arc of red gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed   
                                   information.   
      
                                  Orion's Cradle   
                      Image Credit & Copyright: Piotr Czerski   
      
      Explanation: Cradled in red-glowing hydrogen gas, stars are being born   
      in Orion. These stellar nurseries lie at the edge of the giant Orion   
      molecular cloud complex, some 1,500 light-years away. This detailed   
      view spans about 12 degrees across the center of the well-known   
      constellation, with the Great Orion Nebula, the closest large   
      star-forming region, visible toward the lower right. The deep mosaic   
      also includes, near the top center, the Flame Nebula and the Horsehead   
      Nebula. Image data acquired with a hydrogen-alpha filter adds other   
      remarkable features to this wide-angle cosmic vista: pervasive tendrils   
      of energized atomic hydrogen gas and portions of the surrounding   
      Barnard's Loop. While the Orion Nebula and many stars in Orion are easy   
      to see with the unaided eye, emission from the extensive interstellar   
      gas is faint and much harder to record, even in telescopic views of the   
      nebula-rich complex.   
      
       Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after   
                                       1995)   
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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