Wed 21st of Oct 2026 UTC
Astronomy.co.uk Moon Phase Widget
Age: 10 days old
Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 80%
Distance: 393,293 km
from the NASA archive - 21st October 2026

Jinkies, look at all those ghosts!

It took 100 hours of observation and a special oxygen filter for today’s image to capture three faint nebulas hidden in the Cassiopeia constellation. IC 59 and IC 63, the original Ghosts of Cassiopeia, haunt the region near multi-star system γ Cassiopeia. Energetic light from γ Cassiopeia causes the hydrogen gas in IC 59 and 63 to glow red. Their dust reflects and scatters some blue-ish white starlight. Newly discovered Objects 1, 2, and 3 appear as blue phantoms, revealing the presence of ionized oxygen. But ionized by what? Like at the bow of a speeding boat, γ Cassiopeia may be piling up material as the system moves through interstellar gas and dust. It follows that Object 3 may be the compressed and heated oxygen of that bow shock. Object 1 could be a planetary nebula if a central white dwarf is identified. The origins of these astronomical apparitions remain a mystery to be solved.Read here for more information on how you can help the observing team behind today's APOD.Tomorrow's picture: it's not easy being green

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