NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for Sept. 21, 2026 featured a wide-field view of the Cocoon Nebula, cataloged as IC 5146, set in a starfield covering more than two degrees in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. According to the accompanying explanation, the compact star-forming region appears bright in emission and reflection at lower right, while a long trail of interstellar dust clouds extends to the left, giving the complex a comet-like look.

The explanation states that the nebula's central bright head spans about 10 light years, while the dark dusty tail spans nearly 100 light years. Both are located about 2,500 light years away. A bright star near the nebula's center likely supplies power and helps clear out a cavity, and the tail's long dusty filaments, though dark in this visible-light image, hide stars in the process of formation.

The image was captured in July from Death Valley, California, USA, and is credited to Piotr Czerski. NASA also noted that its main APOD site was moving from apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod.