In today's image, we see the remnant left behind by a star which was observed to explode back in the year 1181. This appears to be an unusual type of nebula classified as a Type Iax which occurs when two white dwarf stars merge together and explode.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

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