Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Orion: The Running Man Nebula

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 2, 2026 is “Orion: The Running Man Nebula,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons ( Robservatory )). The original explanation runs about 158 words.

A complex nebula is shown that is mostly blue and red on the left half and mostly brown on the right. Several bright stars are visible, and many filaments run through, in particular on brown dust filamnents on the image right. Please see th
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons ( Robservatory ) Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What part of Orion is this? Just north of the famous Orion Nebula is a picturesque star forming region in Orion’s Sword that contains a lot of intricate dust — some of which appears blue because it reflects the light of bright embedded stars .”

— APOD editors, February 2, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
February 2, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons ( Robservatory )
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 158 words

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Topics in this entry

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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.