Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

M17: Omega Nebula Star Factory

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 10, 2002 is “M17: Omega Nebula Star Factory,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight , CFHT). The original explanation runs about 109 words.

M17: Omega Nebula Star Factory
Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight , CFHT Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“In the depths of the dark clouds of dust and molecular gas known as M17 , stars continue to form. The similarity to the Greek letter capital Omega gives the molecular cloud its popular name, but the nebula is also known as the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula, and M17.”

— APOD editors, December 10, 2002

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 10, 2002
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: Jean-Charles Cuillandre (CFHT), Hawaiian Starlight , CFHT
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 109 words

All of December 2002 → · 2002 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 10 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.