Astronomy Picture of the Day · January 31, 2012

The Helix Nebula from the VISTA Telescope

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 31, 2012 is “The Helix Nebula from the VISTA Telescope,” an image. It is credited to Credit: ESO / VISTA /J. Emerson; Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. The original explanation runs about 169 words.

From the explanation

“Will our Sun look like this one day? The Helix Nebula is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula , a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star.”

— APOD editors, January 31, 2012

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: January 31, 2012
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: ESO / VISTA /J. Emerson; Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 169 words

All of January 2012 → · 2012 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The Sun Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: January 31 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, January 31, 2012 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2012-january-31-the-helix-nebula-from-the-vista-telescope

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.