Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 27, 1998 is “M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula,” an image. It is credited to Credit: B. Balick (U. Washington) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA. The original explanation runs about 140 words.

M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula
Credit: B. Balick (U. Washington) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die.”

— APOD editors, December 27, 1998

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 27, 1998
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: B. Balick (U. Washington) et al., WFPC2, HST, NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 140 words

All of December 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: December 27 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.