Astronomy Picture of the Day

Good morning RP. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "The Ghost of Jupiter's Halo." So named due to its resemblance to Jupiter in our Solar System, NGC 3242 is a planetary nebula. A planetary nebula is formed once a star completes fusion at its core and throws off its outer layers in a brief display with a white dwarf star visible at the center. About a light-year across NGC 3242 is some 4,500 light-years away and located in the constellation Hydra. The glowing material at the right could well be interstellar gas, by chance close enough to the NGC 3242's white dwarf to be energized by its ultraviolet radiation.