The Shrimp Nebula: Sh2-188 in Cassiopeia
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What causes the swirl in The Shrimp Nebula?
Its high speed is likely. What is certain is that Sh2-188 is one of the larger planetary nebulas in the night sky, by angular size, spanning about half the diameter of the Moon. Moreover, the white-dwarf core—leftover from the Sun-like star that shed its outer atmosphere—is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, creating a bow shock most visible on the upper left that is similar to a boat plowing through water. Although faint, the Shrimp Nebula glows also by compressing and brightening gas on its leading edge. The featured image was taken in the light of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen by a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland and then digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula's true colors.
Its high speed is likely. What is certain is that Sh2-188 is one of the larger planetary nebulas in the night sky, by angular size, spanning about half the diameter of the Moon. Moreover, the white-dwarf core—leftover from the Sun-like star that shed its outer atmosphere—is moving unusually fast through interstellar space, creating a bow shock most visible on the upper left that is similar to a boat plowing through water. Although faint, the Shrimp Nebula glows also by compressing and brightening gas on its leading edge. The featured image was taken in the light of hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen by a backyard telescope in Krakow, Poland and then digitally adjusted to approximate the nebula's true colors.
Sh2-188 was discovered in the early 1950s by Grigory Shajn and Vera Gaze. It was independently discovered by Stewart Sharpless. It was first thought to be a supernova remnant instead of a planetary nebula.
Image Description: A starfield has a bright pink swirling nebula in it. The top part of the nebula shows much detail, while the bottom part is mostly open.
Image Credit & Copyright: Pawel Piechnik
Pavel's website:
https://www.instagram.com/pawelpiechnik.astrophoto/
Caption Credit: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Technological University (MTU)
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2026
Caption Credit: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Technological University (MTU)
Release Date: Sept. 29, 2026
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