AURA

10/07/2026

Supernova Remnant Pa 30 (APOD: 2026 Oct 7)
Image Credit & Copyright: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Acknowledgment: PI: T. Cunningham (Center for Astrophysics - Harvard & Smithsonian). Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).
https://science.nasa.gov/apod/?date=261007

Explanation: "Happy New Year!" No, wait, this is not a fireworks display. This image shows Nebula Pa 30, observed with the Gemini North Telescope in Hawai'i. It is likely the remnant of an old supernova explosion: separate historical records by Chinese, Japanese and Arabic astronomers tell of a "guest star" that appeared in the sky for 185 days in the year 1181. It is believed that this bright new point of light came from the supernova that caused the fireworks in Pa 30. Astronomers don't know exactly what happened in this unusual explosion, classified as a Type Iax supernova, but it is thought to be caused by the merger of two white dwarfs. The mysterious central star in the image is extremely hot and produces a strong wind, possibly forming the radial filaments. Look closely at them: those pearl-like knots stringing the filaments are 4 light-days in diameter. Understanding how a supernova created this amazing nebula continues an 845-year old mystery (and counting).

https://www.gemini.edu/
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https://sites.harvard.edu/charbonneau/directory/tim-cunningham/
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/
https://noirlab.edu/public/copyright/
https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/physics-and-astronomy/faculty/rector.cshtml
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Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=261007

10/07/2026

Spooky season has arrived 👻✨

Meet the Ghost of Jupiter, the nickname given to planetary nebula NGC 3242. But the ghost isn’t alone. The bright object near the center-right of this image is a planetary nebula named NGC 3242, surrounded by a much fainter cloud of gas. And here’s the mysterious part: astronomers still aren’t sure what that cloud is.

It could be material ejected by the star when it was a red giant, or a nearby cloud of interstellar gas lit up by the nebula. 🔍

The image was captured with the Mosaic Camera on the Nicholas U.Mayall 4-meter Telescope at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory. The blue and orange colors show oxygen and hydrogen-alpha emission.

📷 T.A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, L. Frattare and Z. Levay/STScI/AURA/NASA

10/07/2026

One Gemini South wasn’t quite enough for this sunset ✨

Thanks to a perfectly still patch of water on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the telescope appears to have a twin reflected beneath it.

Gemini South is one half of the International Gemini Observatory. It is an 8.1-meter optical-infrared telescope located about 2700 meters above sea level, near the Chilean Andes. Together with Gemini North on Maunakea in Hawaiʻi, the two telescopes give astronomers access to the entire sky and are used to study everything from nearby objects in our Solar System to the most distant galaxies.

But sometimes, before the night’s observations begin, the telescope itself makes the best picture.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/C. Corco

10/07/2026

Cause baby, you're a firework 🎤🎆

This is Pa 30, an explosive cloud of gas and dust bursting from a central hot blue star. Astronomers say it’s the likely remnant of a supernova that people on Earth saw in the year 1181. The explosion created the spectacular, firework-like shell we see around the star.
Now, new observations from the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea in Hawai‘i have revealed this supernova remnant in unprecedented detail. They show that the shell’s long, radial filaments are not smooth streaks as previously thought. Instead, they are made up of chains of tiny knots of gas.

The supernova, known as SN 1181, was visible in the sky for 185 days and is one of only five supernovae in the Milky Way recorded before the invention of the telescope.
This image was captured with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF NOIRLab.

📷 International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský

10/07/2026

Have you seen today's Google Doodle? 🎆

Learn more about the colorful clouds of NGC 7129: https://go.nasa.gov/4rNzF9M

10/07/2026

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