Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 602 and Beyond

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 13, 2026 is “NGC 602 and Beyond,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , and the Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ) – ESA /Hubble Collaboration. The original explanation runs about 160 words.

A starfield surrounds a large light-brown nebula that has several dust pillars. In the center of the nebula are many bright blue stars. Some distant galaxies are visible through and around the nebula. Please see the explanation for more det
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , and the Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ) – ESA /Hubble Collaboration Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud , a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602 .”

— APOD editors, April 13, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 13, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , and the Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ) – ESA /Hubble Collaboration
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 160 words

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Topics in this entry

GalaxiesStar clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 13 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.