Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

The Extraordinary Spiral in LL Pegasi

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 11, 2016 is “The Extraordinary Spiral in LL Pegasi,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: ESA , Hubble , R. Sahai ( JPL ), NASA. The original explanation runs about 160 words.

The Extraordinary Spiral in LL Pegasi
Credit: Image Credit: ESA , Hubble , R. Sahai ( JPL ), NASA Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What created the strange spiral structure on the left? No one is sure, although it is likely related to a star in a binary star system entering the planetary nebula phase, when its outer atmosphere is ejected.”

— APOD editors, December 11, 2016

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 11, 2016
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: ESA , Hubble , R. Sahai ( JPL ), NASA
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 160 words

All of December 2016 → · 2016 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 11 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.