Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Thor's Helmet versus the Seagull

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 18, 2025 is “Thor's Helmet versus the Seagull,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Martino, Adrien Soto, Louis Leroux & Yann Sainty). The original explanation runs about 173 words.

A tall starscape appears to have two bright nebulas. The large one at the top is colored mostly red and is known as the Seagull Nebula. The small one near the bottom right is known as Thor's Helmet. Please see the explanation for more detai
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Martino, Adrien Soto, Louis Leroux & Yann Sainty Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Seen as a seagull and a duck, these nebulae are not the only cosmic clouds to evoke images of flight. But both are winging their way across this broad celestial landscape, spanning almost 7 degrees across planet Earth ‘s night sky toward the constellation of the Big Dog ( Canis Major ).”

— APOD editors, February 18, 2025

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 18, 2025
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Nicolas Martino, Adrien Soto, Louis Leroux & Yann Sainty
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 173 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 18 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.