APOD: 2026 October 2 - The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 Nebulas - NASA Science

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 2 – The… 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. The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 Nebulas Explanation: What does it take to image hundreds of nebulas? Today’s image contains the entire Sharpless Catalog of H II Regions , totaling 313 objects. Zoom in and explore! You may spot fan favorites like the Eagle (Sh2-49), Heart (Sh2-190), and Orion (Sh2-281) Nebulas. Despite its name, this catalog contains more than the glow of ionized hydrogen that makes up H II regions . There are planetary nebulas (the Medusa Nebula , Sh2-274) and supernova remnants (the Spaghetti Nebula , Sh2-240) as well. Astrophotographer Bing Xin traversed the dark skies of Eastern China and Inner Mongolia to catch them all . Narrowband filters that primarily capture light from ionized hydrogen and oxygen as well as red-green-blue filters were used. Each object took 2 to 6 hours to capture, with the entire catalog taking around 800 hours to complete! Which object is your favorite ? APOD’s email for image submissions has changed. Please see: APOD Submissions Tomorrow’s picture: just Curiosity Date: October 2, 2026 Credit: Bing Xin 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 October 1 – Harvest Moon with Erupting Mount Etna Tomorrow’s Image — Company newsroom — sourced from NASA. Matter furnished by the company. Not a Notice Nearby paid placement. This page reprints matter furnished by the company from its official newsroom. Notice Nearby did not write this release. Read the original: https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-2-the-complete-sharpless-catalog-313-nebulae