Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

MyCn18: An Hourglass Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 14, 1997 is “MyCn18: An Hourglass Nebula,” an image. It is credited to Credit: R. Sahai and J. Trauger (JPL), WFPC2, NASA. The original explanation runs about 126 words.

MyCn18: An Hourglass Nebula
Credit: R. Sahai and J. Trauger (JPL), WFPC2, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The sands of time are running out for the central star of this hourglass-shaped planetary nebula . With its nuclear fuel exhausted, this brief, spectacular, closing phase of a Sun-like star’s life occurs as its outer layers are ejected – its core becoming a cooling, fading white dwarf .”

— APOD editors, September 14, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
September 14, 1997
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: R. Sahai and J. Trauger (JPL), WFPC2, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 126 words

All of September 1997 → · 1997 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The SunNebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: September 14 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.