APOD: 2025 January 8 – Supernova Remnants Big and Small

Good afternoon, Rallypoint, and welcome to the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for January 8, 2025.

If you like things that go BOOM (a MOAB perhaps?), then today's APOD could become a favorite for the year. These two supernovae remnants are located between the constellations Auriga and Taurus. But don't think that one supernova was bigger than the other...one (the 'smaller') is simply further away. The Spaghetti Nebula (lower right) is 3,000 light years away, while SNR (Super Nova Remnant, upper left) G179.0+02.6 is 11,000 light years away. The Spaghetti Nebula is predominantly hydrogen with some oxygen. G179.0 is predominantly oxygen.