Astronomy Picture of the Day · May 15, 2009

M97: The Owl Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 15, 2009 is “M97: The Owl Nebula,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Keith Quattrocchi). The original explanation runs about 164 words.

From the explanation

“The Owl Nebula is perched in the sky about 2,600 light-years away toward the bottom of the Big Dipper’s bowl. Also cataloged as M97 , the 97th object in Messier’s well-known list, its round shape along with the placement of two large, dark “eyes” do suggest the face of a staring owl .”

— APOD editors, May 15, 2009

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: May 15, 2009
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Keith Quattrocchi
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 164 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 15 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, May 15, 2009 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2009-may-15-m97-the-owl-nebula

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.