Astronomy Picture of the Day · April 14, 2021

The Pencil Nebula Supernova Shock Wave

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 14, 2021 is “The Pencil Nebula Supernova Shock Wave,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Greg Turgeon & Utkarsh Mishra). The original explanation runs about 162 words.

From the explanation

“This supernova shock wave plows through interstellar space at over 500,000 kilometers per hour. Near the middle and moving up in this sharply detailed color composite , thin, bright, braided filaments are actually long ripples in a cosmic sheet of glowing gas seen almost edge-on.”

— APOD editors, April 14, 2021

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: April 14, 2021
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Greg Turgeon & Utkarsh Mishra
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 162 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae Supernovae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 14 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 14, 2021 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2021-april-14-the-pencil-nebula-supernova-shock-wave

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.