MSGID: 1:153/757.0 8d5f84a9
TZUTC: -0700
CHRS: LATIN-1 2
                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                                2025 July 13
   A dark starfield appears around an unusually shaped nebula. The nebula
    has two main lobes on the left and the right and may seem to resemble
      an ant. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
    Image Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Sahai (JPL) et al., Hubble Heritage Team

   Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is
   being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why
   then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula
   that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high
   1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year
   long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured
   here at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding
   a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A
   competing hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and
   magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears
   to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased
   understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful
   insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth.

                Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator
                     Tomorrow's picture: twisted galaxy
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
 * Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
SEEN-BY: 19/10 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 134/100 153/135 143
SEEN-BY: 153/148 151 757 6809 7083 7715 154/110 218/700 840 221/1
SEEN-BY: 221/6 360 226/30 227/114 229/110 206 307 317 400 426 428
SEEN-BY: 229/664 700 705 240/1120 266/512 291/111 301/1 113 812 320/219
SEEN-BY: 322/757 335/364 341/66 342/200 396/45 460/58 256 1124 633/280
SEEN-BY: 712/848 902/26 5020/400 1042 8912 5054/30 5075/35
PATH: 153/757 221/6 301/1 460/58 229/426