NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 26, 2026 featured a James Webb Space Telescope composite image of the Lion's Head Nebula, also known as NGC 2392, assembled from observations by the telescope's NIRCam and MIRI instruments. The image is credited to NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI, with image processing by Alyssa Pagan of STScI.

According to the accompanying explanation, the nebula is the remnant of a Sun-like star that could not sustain the core nuclear fusion needed to remain stable and shed layers of gas and dust into space, forming a planetary nebula. A hot white dwarf remains at its center, and its intense radiation ionizes the expanding gas, producing the irregular bubble described as the lion's face. Dust clumps that survived that radiation, together with a cloud of ionized gas, form the mane.

The explanation states that the more detailed view is expected to help researchers learn how gas and dust interact with the white dwarf's radiation.