APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 26 – JWST… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD 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. JWST Images The Lion’s Head Nebula Explanation: Are we looking at the future of our Sun ? The James Webb Space Telescope captured today’s composite image of the Lion’s Head Nebula ( NGC 2392 ) with its NIRCam and MIRI instruments. The Lion’s Head Nebula is the remnant of a Sun-like star . This star was unable to sustain the nuclear fusion in its core needed to remain stable. It began to shed layers of gas and dust into space, forming this planetary nebula . A hot stellar core, called a white dwarf , is left behind within the lion’s nose. Do not boop this nose! Intense radiation from the white dwarf is ionizing the gas as it expands, creating the irregular bubble that makes up the lion’s face. Dust clumps that have survived the white dwarf’s radiation and a cloud of ionized gas make up the lion’s mane. This new and more detailed view of the nebula will help humanity learn more about how the gas and dust interact with each other and the white dwarf radiation. Tomorrow’s picture: a waterfall of light Date: August 26, 2026 Credit: Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Authors & editors: Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 August 25 – Earth’s Shadow Visualized with Lunar Eclipses Tomorrow’s Image
