APOD: 2026 October 2 – The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 Nebulas

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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?

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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.

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