Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

IC 4406: A Seemingly Square Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 27, 1998 is “IC 4406: A Seemingly Square Nebula,” an image. It is credited to Credit: H. Bond (STSci), R. Ciardullo (PSU), WFPC2, HST, NASA. The original explanation runs about 104 words.

IC 4406: A Seemingly Square Nebula
Credit: H. Bond (STSci), R. Ciardullo (PSU), WFPC2, HST, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“How can a round star make a square nebula? This conundrum came to light with the discovery of planetary nebulae like IC 4406.”

— APOD editors, April 27, 1998

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 27, 1998
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: H. Bond (STSci), R. Ciardullo (PSU), WFPC2, HST, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 104 words

All of April 1998 → · 1998 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 27 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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.