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NASA’s Oct. 2, 2026, Astronomy Picture of the Day features a single image containing all 313 objects in the Sharpless catalog. Astrophotographer Bing Xin collected the images across Eastern China and Inner Mongolia, spending about 800 hours on the project.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) on October 2, 2026, features an image bringing together all 313 objects in the Sharpless catalog, a collection of nebulae and other astronomical objects. Astrophotographer Bing Xin captured the catalog’s objects over about 800 hours at dark-sky sites in Eastern China and Inner Mongolia.
The APOD presentation invites viewers to zoom in and explore the full collection. Among the familiar examples it identifies are the Eagle Nebula (Sh2-49), the Heart Nebula (Sh2-190) and the Orion Nebula (Sh2-281). The catalog is named for H II regions, clouds of ionized hydrogen, but the image also includes objects of other types.
NASA’s description points to the Medusa Nebula (Sh2-274) as a planetary nebula and the Spaghetti Nebula (Sh2-240) as a supernova remnant. Xin used narrowband filters that primarily capture light from ionized hydrogen and oxygen, alongside red, green and blue filters. NASA says each object took between two and six hours to capture, and the full effort took around 800 hours.
The APOD entry credits Xin for the image and lists Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell and Cecilia Chirenti as authors and editors. The page is part of NASA’s daily astronomy feature, which pairs an image or photograph with an explanation written by a professional astronomer.
A Catalog Made Visible
The image turns a large reference collection into a single visual overview. Rather than focusing on one nebula, it gives viewers a way to compare hundreds of objects and then inspect individual examples. That makes the APOD useful both as an accessible introduction to nebulae and as a showcase of the time and planning involved in large-scale astrophotography.
The project also makes clear that the catalog’s name does not describe every object in it. Alongside hydrogen-emission regions, the collection includes a planetary nebula and a supernova remnant, among other objects identified in the source description. The distinctions matter: these labels refer to different kinds of astronomical objects, even when they appear together in a collection of nebulae.
For readers, the practical appeal is the ability to move between the overall collection and recognizable targets such as Orion or the Eagle Nebula. The work also illustrates how imaging techniques shape what appears in an astronomical photograph: narrowband filters isolate selected light, while RGB filters contribute color information. NASA’s account describes the methods and time involved, but does not present the picture as a new scientific survey or announce a discovery.
astrophotography telescope with narrowband filters
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What the Sharpless List Includes
The Sharpless catalog is a list of objects associated with H II regions, areas of ionized hydrogen. NASA’s APOD description uses “nebulae” broadly for the featured collection while noting that it includes objects beyond H II regions. Its examples show the range: the Medusa is classified there as a planetary nebula, while the Spaghetti is identified as a supernova remnant.
APOD’s format is a daily astronomy feature, not a report of a new mission or a peer-reviewed research paper. The October 2 entry presents Xin’s image and explains how it was made. NASA identifies the observation locations as dark skies in Eastern China and Inner Mongolia; the supplied description does not provide a more detailed site list or dates for the individual sessions.
The reported project totals give a sense of its scale. With two to six hours per object and approximately 800 hours overall, the work involved repeated imaging rather than a single exposure. The source does not specify the schedule across which those hours were accumulated, so the total should be understood as the stated imaging time, not a claim about a particular calendar duration.
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Details Beyond the APOD Account
The NASA description does not state when Xin began or finished the project, how many nights were spent imaging, or the precise location of each observation. It reports an estimated total of around 800 hours, without a breakdown by object or imaging session. Those details are not established by the APOD entry.
The page also does not provide a technical image-processing workflow, a downloadable catalog table, or a scientific analysis of the combined image. Its description explains the filters and names several examples, but does not say that the image changes the catalog’s contents or reports newly detected objects. The announcement is a presentation of an astrophotography project, not evidence of a separate astronomical finding.
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Explore the APOD Image
NASA’s entry encourages readers to zoom in and explore the image, including the named examples and the other catalog objects. The supplied source does not announce a follow-up release, research publication or additional milestone for Xin’s project. APOD’s next scheduled feature is identified on the page as “just Curiosity,” but the description gives no further details about that image.
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Key Questions
What does the October 2, 2026, APOD show?
It presents an image containing all 313 objects in the Sharpless catalog, as described by NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Who made the image, and how long did it take?
NASA credits astrophotographer Bing Xin. The APOD description says each object took two to six hours to capture and the catalog project took around 800 hours overall.
Are all 313 objects H II regions?
No. NASA says the collection includes objects beyond H II regions, including the Medusa Nebula, described as a planetary nebula, and the Spaghetti Nebula, described as a supernova remnant.
What filters did Xin use?
The description says Xin used narrowband filters that primarily capture light from ionized hydrogen and oxygen, as well as red, green and blue filters.
Does the APOD report a new astronomical discovery?
No discovery is reported in the supplied APOD description. The entry presents Xin’s image and gives information about its subjects and imaging process.
Source: primary
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