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NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for September 29, 2026, features Sh2-188, a large planetary nebula nicknamed the Shrimp Nebula. NASA’s explanation says its white dwarf is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, producing a bow shock; the cause of the nebula’s swirl is not certain.
Sh2-188 is a planetary nebula, a shell of gas shed by a Sun-like star near the end of its life. At the center, the star’s remnant is now a white dwarf. NASA’s APOD explanation describes the object as unusually fast-moving relative to the surrounding interstellar material. As it travels, it pushes into that material and forms a bow shock, an arc-like structure comparable to the wave made ahead of a boat moving through water.
The shock is most visible on the upper-left side of the featured image. NASA also says the nebula is faintly luminous where gas on its leading edge is compressed and brightened. Sh2-188 is large in apparent size on the sky: the APOD says it spans about half the Moon’s diameter. This is an angular measurement as seen from Earth, not a statement about the nebula’s physical diameter.
The image was made with a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland, using light from hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen. It was then digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula’s true colors, according to the NASA page. The credit is Pawel Piechnik; the APOD editors listed are Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti and Keighley Rockcliffe.
How Stellar Motion Shapes the Nebula
The image shows the nebula’s structure alongside the movement of its stellar remnant. A bow shock marks where the fast-moving white dwarf’s surroundings interact with gas and dust between stars. NASA’s description says compression brightens gas along the leading edge, making the motion visible in an object otherwise described as faint.
Sh2-188’s shape illustrates how a star’s shed outer atmosphere interacts with surrounding material as its remnant moves through space. The APOD explanation presents speed as a likely contributor to the swirl, while noting that the cause is not certain. The image accompanies NASA’s explanation of the interaction; the entry does not report a new measurement or discovery.
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From Sun-Like Star to White Dwarf
Planetary nebulae form when stars comparable to the Sun cast off their outer layers late in their lives. Despite the name, they are not planets. The expelled gas can glow around the hot stellar remnant, which contracts into a white dwarf. In Sh2-188, the APOD account focuses on how that remnant’s motion affects the surrounding material.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day publishes a different image or photograph of the cosmos each day, accompanied by an explanation written by a professional astronomer. The September 29 entry is credited to the image-maker and lists the editors responsible for the explanation. The page also notes that APOD’s image-submission email and main website address have changed; readers are directed to the APOD Submissions page for submission information.
What the Image Cannot Settle
NASA describes the white dwarf as moving unusually fast and says its speed is likely behind the swirl, but the APOD text does not give a measured velocity, a distance to Sh2-188 or a detailed account of how the nebula’s shape developed. It does not establish the swirl’s cause as certain. The page also gives no physical diameter; its half-Moon comparison refers only to angular size on the sky.
The published entry is an image and explanatory caption. It does not announce new observations, a peer-reviewed study or a change in the scientific status of Sh2-188. The caption does not specify the telescope’s aperture, exposure time or processing steps, so those details cannot be inferred from the provided source.
Where to Find Further APOD Updates
The APOD page identifies the following day’s image as “open space,” but gives no further details in this entry. Readers can follow the daily series at NASA’s APOD site and consult the linked submission page for current image-submission instructions. No additional observation or follow-up study of Sh2-188 is announced in the September 29 entry.
Key Questions
What is Sh2-188?
Sh2-188, also called the Shrimp Nebula, is a planetary nebula: gas shed by a Sun-like star, surrounding its white-dwarf remnant.
What creates the bow shock?
NASA says the nebula’s white dwarf is moving unusually fast through interstellar space. Its motion produces a bow shock, most visible on the image’s upper-left side.
Is the cause of the nebula’s swirl known for certain?
No. The APOD explanation says the star’s high speed is likely to cause the swirl, but does not describe that explanation as certain.
How large is the Shrimp Nebula?
In apparent size, Sh2-188 spans about half the Moon’s diameter in the sky, according to NASA. That comparison is angular and does not give the nebula’s physical diameter.
How was the featured image made?
Pawel Piechnik took it with a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland, using hydrogen, sulfur and oxygen light. NASA says it was digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula’s true colors.
Source: primary
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