MSGID: 1:153/757.0 b357195c   
   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.   
      
                                   2023 August 5   
      
                         NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula   
                       Image Credit & Copyright: Dong Liang   
      
      Explanation: This pretty nebula lies some 1,500 light-years away, its   
      shape and color in this telescopic view reminiscent of a robin's egg.   
      The cosmic cloud spans about 3 light-years, nestled securely within the   
      boundaries of the southern constellation Fornax. Recognized as a   
      planetary nebula, egg-shaped NGC 1360 doesn't represent a beginning   
      though. Instead it corresponds to a brief and final phase in the   
      evolution of an aging star. In fact, visible at the center of the   
      nebula, the central star of NGC 1360 is known to be a binary star   
      system likely consisting of two evolved white dwarf stars, less massive   
      but much hotter than the Sun. Their intense and otherwise invisible   
      ultraviolet radiation has stripped away electrons from the atoms in   
      their mutually surrounding gaseous shroud. The predominant blue-green   
      hue of NGC 1360 seen here is the strong emission produced as electrons   
      recombine with doubly ionized oxygen atoms.   
      
                       Tomorrow's picture: supernova remnant   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman 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-6   
    * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/123 15/0 90/1 105/81 106/201 123/131 129/305 134/100 153/135   
   SEEN-BY: 153/143 757 802 6809 7715 218/700 840 221/1 6 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 206 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 240/1120   
   SEEN-BY: 266/512 282/1038 291/111 301/1 113 812 317/3 320/219 322/757   
   SEEN-BY: 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58 256 1124 633/280 712/848   
   SEEN-BY: 5020/400 1042 5054/30 5075/35   
   PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426