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NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for Sept. 29, 2026, features Sh2-188, also known as the Shrimp Nebula. The accompanying explanation says its white-dwarf core is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, a motion that likely contributes to the nebula’s swirl and creates a visible bow shock.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on Sept. 29, 2026, features Sh2-188, the Shrimp Nebula, and describes how the planetary nebula’s unusually fast-moving white-dwarf core may help produce its swirl. The image, made from observations in hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen light by a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland, shows a bow shock on the nebula’s upper-left edge.
The NASA explanation identifies Sh2-188 as one of the larger planetary nebulae in the night sky by angular size, spanning about half the Moon’s diameter as seen from Earth. That measurement describes how wide the nebula appears in the sky; it does not give its physical diameter or distance from Earth.
NASA says the nebula formed from the outer atmosphere shed by a Sun-like star, leaving behind a white-dwarf core. That core is moving unusually fast through interstellar space. Its motion creates a bow shock, most visible on the upper-left side, which the explanation compares to the wave made by a boat moving through water.
The nebula is faint, but NASA’s account says gas on its leading edge is compressed and brightened. The featured image records light from hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen and was digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula’s true colors. The source credits the image to Pawel Piechnik.
How Stellar Motion Shapes Sh2-188
The image and its explanation connect the nebula’s visible form to the motion of the remnant star at its center. In NASA’s account, the white dwarf’s speed through surrounding interstellar material produces a bow shock and compresses gas at the leading edge, where the gas brightens. This gives viewers a way to read the structure in the image as evidence of interaction between the stellar remnant and its surroundings.
The feature also shows how astronomical images can combine observations made in different kinds of light. Hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen emissions were used for the picture, and the digital adjustment was intended to approximate the nebula’s true colors. NASA does not provide details in this entry about the imaging equipment, exposure times or processing steps, so the image should be understood through the description supplied with it.
For readers, the stated angular size offers a familiar point of comparison: Sh2-188 appears about half as wide as the Moon. The comparison concerns its apparent size in the sky, while the source gives no physical size or distance. The main scientific point in the feature is the proposed relationship between the white dwarf’s unusually high speed and the nebula’s asymmetrical, swirling appearance.
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A Star’s Outer Layers Remain
A planetary nebula is the glowing material left after a star like the Sun sheds its outer atmosphere. Despite the word “planetary,” the term describes a type of nebula rather than a cloud of planets. In the account accompanying this image, the expelled atmosphere is the material that now makes Sh2-188 visible, while the white dwarf is the leftover core of the star.
The Sept. 29 entry focuses on what may account for the nebula’s swirl. NASA’s explanation links that feature to the white dwarf’s speed, describing the bow shock as a structure formed as the core moves through interstellar space. It also notes that the shock is most visible toward the upper left and that gas at the leading edge is compressed and brightened.
The photograph was taken with a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland, rather than being described as an image from a named space observatory. Its credited photographer is Pawel Piechnik. The Astronomy Picture of the Day service presents a different image or photograph each day alongside an explanation written by a professional astronomer; this entry lists Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti and Keighley Rockcliffe among its authors and editors.
What the Image Cannot Establish
NASA describes the white dwarf’s speed as a likely cause of the swirl, leaving that explanation qualified. The entry does not provide a measured speed, a detailed analysis of the nebula’s shape or a comparison with other possible causes. It also does not state how the star’s motion was measured.
The source gives an apparent angular size but no distance or physical dimensions for Sh2-188. It does not quantify how much the gas is compressed or brightened, or provide the image’s exposure details. Those particulars cannot be determined from the written explanation alone.
The entry’s color description says the digital adjustment approximates the nebula’s true colors. It does not explain the processing method or how each observed emission was mapped to the final image. The image is therefore accompanied by a useful account of its data and intended color representation, but the source does not provide enough technical detail to independently assess that processing.
The Daily Image Series Continues
The next scheduled Astronomy Picture of the Day is identified on the page as “open space.” The entry does not give further details about that image. NASA also notes that its APOD main site has moved from apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod and that the email address for image submissions has changed; the page directs prospective submitters to its APOD Submissions information.
For Sh2-188, the Sept. 29 feature supplies a visual explanation rather than announcing a new measurement or research result. Further details about the white dwarf’s speed, the nebula’s physical scale and the image’s processing are not included in the source material.
Key Questions
What is Sh2-188?
Sh2-188, also called the Shrimp Nebula, is a planetary nebula made from the outer atmosphere shed by a Sun-like star. The remaining stellar core is a white dwarf.
Why does the nebula have a swirl?
NASA’s explanation says the white dwarf’s unusually fast motion through interstellar space is likely to cause the swirl. The motion creates a bow shock, most visible on the upper-left side, and compresses gas along the leading edge.
How large does Sh2-188 appear?
The APOD explanation says it spans about half the diameter of the Moon in angular size. This is an apparent size in the sky, not a measurement of the nebula’s physical diameter.
How was the featured image made?
Pawel Piechnik took the image with a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland, using light from hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. It was digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula’s true colors.
Source: primary
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