Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Explanation: What causes the swirl in the Shrimp Nebula? Its high speed is likely. What is sure is that Sh2-188 is one of the larger planetary nebulas on the night sky, by angular size , spanning about half the diameter of the Moon . Moreover, the white-dwarf core — leftover from the Sun -like star that shed its outer atmosphere — is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, creating a bow shock most visible on the upper left that is similar to a boat plowing through water . Although faint, the Shrimp Nebula glows also by compressing and brightening gas on its leading edge. The featured image was taken in the light of hydrogen , sulfur, and oxygen by a backyard telescope in Krakow , Poland and then digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula ‘s true colors.

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