Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 1499: The California Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 24, 2006 is “NGC 1499: The California Nebula,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Caltech , Palomar Observatory , Digitized Sky Survey ; Courtesy: Scott Kardel. The original explanation runs about 157 words.

NGC 1499: The California Nebula
Credit: Caltech , Palomar Observatory , Digitized Sky Survey ; Courtesy: Scott Kardel Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What’s California doing in space? Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States .”

— APOD editors, September 24, 2006

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
September 24, 2006
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Caltech , Palomar Observatory , Digitized Sky Survey ; Courtesy: Scott Kardel
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 157 words

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Topics in this entry

The Milky WayOrionNebulaeGalaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: September 24 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.