In today's image, we see two nebulae, known as the Heart Nebula and the Should Nebula. These are examples of emission nebula which are located in star forming regions where gas left over from star formation is energized by ultraviolet light from newly formed, hot stars.

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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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