Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

X-Rays from M17

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 21, 2003 is “X-Rays from M17,” an image. It is credited to Credit: L. Townsley ( PSU ) et al. , CXC , NASA. The original explanation runs about 157 words.

X-Rays from M17
Credit: L. Townsley ( PSU ) et al. , CXC , NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“About 5,000 light-years away , toward the constellation Sagittarius and the center of our galaxy, lies the bright star forming region cataloged as M17 . In visible light, M17’s bowed and hollowed-out appearance has resulted in many popular names like the Horseshoe, Swan, Omega, and Lobster nebula.”

— APOD editors, August 21, 2003

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
August 21, 2003
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: L. Townsley ( PSU ) et al. , CXC , NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 157 words

All of August 2003 → · 2003 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

NebulaeGalaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 21 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.