Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Supernova in a Sideways Spiral

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 7, 2026 is “Supernova in a Sideways Spiral,” a video. It is credited to Video Credit: Hunter Outten & Kaleb Jordan Text: Cecilia Chirenti ( NASA GSFC , UMCP , CRESST II ). The original explanation runs about 169 words.

Watch the video on the original page
Credit: Video Credit: Hunter Outten & Kaleb Jordan Text: Cecilia Chirenti ( NASA GSFC , UMCP , CRESST II ) Shown from the original page. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“A long time ago, in a distant galaxy , a massive star was destroyed in a supernova explosion. The light of this event travelled for tens of millions of years and reached Earth last week as Supernova 2026kid .”

— APOD editors, May 7, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 7, 2026
Type
Video
Credit
Credit: Video Credit: Hunter Outten & Kaleb Jordan Text: Cecilia Chirenti ( NASA GSFC , UMCP , CRESST II )
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 169 words

All of May 2026 → · 2026 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

GalaxiesSupernovae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 7 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.