Astronomy Picture of the Day · July 15, 2016

NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 15, 2016 is “NGC 2736: The Pencil Nebula,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Howard Hedlund & Dave Jurasevich , Las Campanas Obs.). The original explanation runs about 157 words.

From the explanation

“Moving from top to bottom in the frame near the center of this sharply detailed color composite , thin, bright, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a cosmic sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge-on. The shock wave plows through interstellar space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour.”

— APOD editors, July 15, 2016

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: July 15, 2016
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Howard Hedlund & Dave Jurasevich , Las Campanas Obs.
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 157 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: July 15 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 15, 2016 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2016-july-15-ngc-2736-the-pencil-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.