APOD: 2022 January 19 - M31: The Andromeda Galaxy Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 19 M31: The Andromeda Galaxy Image Credit: Subaru (NAOJ), Hubble(NASA/ESA), Mayall(NSF); Processing & Copyright: R. Gendler & R. Croman Explanation: The most distant object easily visible to the unaided eye isM31,the great Andromeda Galaxy.Even at some two and a half million light-years distant, this immense spiral galaxy -- spanning over200,000 light years -- is visible, although as a faint, nebulous cloud in theconstellationAndromeda.In contrast, a bright yellow nucleus, dark winding dust lanes, andexpansive spiral arms dotted with blue star clusters and red nebulae, are recorded in this stunning telescopic image which combines data from orbiting Hubble with ground-based images from Subaru and Mayall.In only about 5 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy may be even easier to see -- as it will likely span the entire night sky -- just before it merges with our Milky Way Galaxy. Tomorrow's picture: open space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights...

APOD: 2022 January 18 - From Orion to the Southern Cross Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 18 From Orion to the Southern Cross Image Credit & Copyright: Lucy Yunxi Hu Explanation: This is a sky filled with glowing icons.On the far left is the familiar constellation of Orion, divided by its iconic three-aligned belt stars and featuring the famous Orion Nebula, both partly encircled by Barnard's Loop.Just left of center in the featured image is the brightest star in the night: Sirius.Arching across the image center is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy.On the far right, near the top, are the two brightest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way: the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC).Also on the far right -- just above the cloudy horizon -- is the constellation of Crux, complete with the four stars that make the iconic Southern Cross.The featured image is a composite of 18 consecutive exposures taken by the same camera and from the same location in eastern Australia during the last days of last year. In the...

APOD: 2022 January 17 - Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 17 Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas Image Credit & Copyright: Jarmo Ruuth, Telescope Live, Heaven's Mirror Observatory Explanation: Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance. Such is the case toward the far-south constellation of Chamaeleon.Normally too faint to see, dark dust is best known for blocking visible light from stars and galaxies behind it.In this four-hour exposure, however, the dust is seen mostly in light of its own, with its strong red and near-infrared colors giving creating a brown hue.Contrastingly blue, the bright star Beta Chamaeleontis is visible just to the right of center, with the dust that surrounds it preferentially reflecting blue light from its primarily blue-white color. All of the pictured stars and dust occur in our own Milky Way Galaxy with -- but one notable exception: the white spot just below Beta Chamaeleontis is the galaxy IC 3104 which lies far in the distance. Interstellar dust is mostly created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars and dispersed into space by stellar...

APOD: 2022 January 16 - A Retreating Thunderstorm at Sunset Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 16 A Retreating Thunderstorm at Sunset Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Dyer(The Amazing Sky) Explanation: What type of cloud is that?This retreating cumulonimbus cloud, more commonly called a thundercloud, is somewhat unusual as it contains the unusual bumpiness of a mammatus cloud on the near end, while simultaneously producing falling rain on the far end.Taken in mid-2013 in southern Alberta, Canada, the cloud is moving to the east, into the distance, as the sun sets in the west, behind the camera.In the featured image, graphic sunset colors cross the sky to give the alreadyphotogeniccloud striking orange and pink hues.A darkening blue sky covers the background.Further in the distance, a rising, waxing, gibbous moon is visible on the far right. Tomorrow's picture: angular space dust <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2022 January 15 - Galileo's Europa Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 15 Galileo's Europa Image Credit: NASA,JPL-Caltech,SETI Institute,Cynthia Phillips,Marty Valenti Explanation: Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, theGalileo spacecraftrecorded stunning views of Europa and uncoveredevidence that the moon's icy surface likely hidesa deep, global ocean.Galileo's Europa image data has beenremastered here, with improved calibrations to produce acolor image approximating what the human eye might see.Europa's long curving fractureshintat the subsurface liquid water. The tidal flexingthe large moon experiences in its elliptical orbitaround Jupiter supplies the energy to keep the ocean liquid.But moretantalizing is the possibilitythat even in theabsence of sunlight that process could also supply the energy tosupport life,making Europaone of the best places to look for lifebeyond Earth.What kind of life could thrive in a deep, dark, subsurface ocean?Consider planet Earth's ownextreme shrimp. Tomorrow's picture: a very cloudy day<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC& Michigan Tech....

APOD: 2022 January 14 - NGC 1566: The Spanish Dancer Spiral Galaxy Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 14 NGC 1566: The Spanish Dancer Spiral Galaxy Image Credit &Copyright:Mark HansonandMike Selby Explanation: An island universeof billions of stars,NGC 1566 lies about 60 million light-years away in the southernconstellationDorado.Popularly known as the Spanish Dancer galaxy, it's seen face-on from ourMilky Way perspective.A gorgeous grand design spiral, this galaxy'stwo graceful spiral arms span over 100,000 light-years,traced by bright blue star clusters,pinkish starforming regions, and swirlingcosmic dustlanes.NGC 1566'sflaring center makes the spiral one of the closest and brightest Seyfertgalaxies.It likely houses a central supermassive black hole wreaking havoc on surrounding stars, gas, and dust.In this sharp southern galaxy portrait,the spiky stars lie well within the Milky Way. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2022 January 13 - Supernova Remnant Simeis 147 Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 13 Supernova Remnant Simeis 147 Image Credit &Copyright:Jason Dain Explanation: It's easy to get lost following the intricate, looping, twisting filaments inthis detailed imageofsupernova remnant Simeis 147.Also cataloged as Sharpless 2-240 it goes by the popular nickname,the Spaghetti Nebula.Seen towardthe boundary of the constellations Taurus and Auriga,it covers nearly 3 degrees or 6 full moons on the sky.That's about 150 light-years atthe stellar debris cloud's estimated distance of 3,000 light-years.This composite includes image data taken through narrow-band filterswhere reddish emission from ionized hydrogen atoms and doubly ionizedoxygen atoms in faint blue-green hues trace theshocked, glowing gas.The supernova remnant has an estimated age of about 40,000years, meaning light from the massive stellar explosion firstreached Earth 40,000 years ago.But the expanding remnant is not the only aftermath.The cosmic catastrophealso left behinda spinning neutron star or pulsar,all that remains of the original star's core. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA...

APOD: 2022 January 12 - Comet Leonard Closeup from Australia Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 12 Comet Leonard Closeup from Australia Image Credit & Copyright: Blake Estes (itelescope.net) Explanation: What does Comet Leonard look like up close?Although we can't go there, imaging the comet's coma and inner tails through a small telescope gives us a good idea. As the name implies, the ion tail is made of ionized gas -- gas energized by ultraviolet light from the Sun and pushed outward by the solar wind. The solar wind is quite structured and sculpted by the Sun's complex and ever changing magnetic field.The effect of the variable solar wind combined with different gas jets venting from the comet's nucleus accounts for the tail's complex structure. Following the wind, structure in Comet Leonard's tail can be seen to move outward from the Sun even alter its wavy appearance over time. The blue color of the ion tail is dominated by recombining carbon monoxide molecules, while the green color of the coma surrounding the head of the comet is created mostly by a...

APOD: 2022 January 11 - Orions Belt Region in Gas and Dust Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 11 Orion's Belt Region in Gas and Dust Image Credit & Copyright: Matt Harbison(Space4Everybody),Marathon Remote Imaging Observatory Explanation: You may have seen Orion's belt before -- but not like this.The three bright stars across this image are, from left to right, Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak: the iconic belt stars of Orion.The rest of the stars in the frame have been digitally removed to highlight the surrounding clouds of glowing gas and dark dust.Some of these clouds have intriguing shapes, including the Horsehead and Flame Nebulas, both near Alnitak on the lower right. This deep image, taken last month from the Marathon Skypark and Observatory inMarathon, Texas, USA, spans about 5 degrees, required about 20 hours of exposure, and was processed to reveal the gas and dust that we would really see if we were much closer.The famous Orion Nebula is off to the upper right of this colorful field. The entire region lies only about 1,500 light-years distant and so is one of...

APOD: 2022 January 10 - Comet Leonards Tail Wag Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Comet Leonard's Tail Wag Image Credit: NASA, NRL, STEREO-A; Processing: B. Gallagher Explanation: Why does Comet Leonard's tail wag?The featured time-lapse video shows the ion tail of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) as it changed over ten days early last month. The video was taken by NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Ahead (STEREO-A) spacecraft that co-orbits the Sun at roughly the same distance as the Earth.Each image in this 29-degree field was subtracted from following image to create frames that highlight differences.The video clearly shows Comet Leonard's long ion tail extending, wagging, and otherwise being blown around by the solar wind -- a stream of fast-moving ions that stream out from the Sun. Since the video was taken, Comet Leonard continued plunging toward the Sun, reached its closest approach to the Sun between the orbits of Mercury and Venus, survived this closest approach without breaking apart, and is now fading as heads out of our Solar System. Tuesday over Zoom: APOD editor to present the Best APOD Space Images of...

APOD: 2022 January 9 - Hubbles Jupiter and the Shrinking Great Red Spot Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 9 Hubble's Jupiter and the Shrinking Great Red Spot Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, OPAL Program, STScI; Processing: Karol Masztalerz Explanation: What will become of Jupiter's Great Red Spot? Gas giant Jupiter is the solar system'slargest world with about 320 times the massof planet Earth.Jupiter is home to one of the largest and longest lasting storm systems known,the Great Red Spot (GRS), visible to the left.The GRS is so large it could swallow Earth, although it has been shrinking. Comparison with historical notes indicate that the storm spans only about one third of the exposed surface area it had 150 years ago.NASA's Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program has been monitoring the storm more recently using the Hubble Space Telescope.The featured Hubble OPAL image shows Jupiter as it appeared in 2016, processed in a way that makes red hues appear quite vibrant.Modern GRS data indicate that the storm continues to constrict its surface area, but is also becoming slightly taller, vertically. No...

APOD: 2022 January 8 - Quadrantids of the North Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 8 Quadrantids of the North Image Credit &Copyright:Cheng Luo Explanation: Named for aforgottenconstellation, theQuadrantid Meteor Showerputs on an annual show for planet Earth's northern hemisphere skygazers.The shower's radiant on the skylies within the old, astronomically obsolete constellationQuadransMuralis.That location is not far from the Big Dipper,at the boundaries of the modern constellations Bootes and Draco.In fact north star Polaris is just below center in this frame andthe Big Dipper asterism (known to some asthe Plough) is above it,with the meteor shower radiant to the right.Pointing back toward the radiant,Quadrantid meteors streak through the night in the panoramicskyscape, a composite of images taken in the hours aroundthe shower's peak on January 4, 2022.Arrayed in the foreground are radio telescopes of theChinese Spectral Radioheliograph,Mingantu Observing Station, Inner Mongolia, China.A likely source of the dust stream that producesQuadrantid meteors was identifiedin 2003as an asteroid. Status Updates: Deploying the James Webb Space Telescope Tomorrow's picture: shrinking red spot<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors...

A male Adelie penguin performed this Ecstatic Vocalization in

The Last Days of Venus as the Evening Star

APOD: 2022 January 5 - A Year of Sunrises Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 5 A Year of Sunrises Image Credit & Copyright: Luca Vanzella Explanation: Does the Sun always rise in the same direction? No. As the months change, the direction toward the rising Sun changes, too. The featured image shows the direction of sunrise every month during 2021 as seen from the city of Edmonton, Alberta,Canada.The camera in the image is always facing due east, with north toward the left and south toward the right. As shown in an accompanying video, the top image was taken in 2020 December, while the bottom image was captured in 2021 December, making 13 images in total.Although the Sun always rises in the east in general, it rises furthest to the south of east near the December solstice, and furthest north of east near the June solstice.In many countries, the December Solstice is considered an official change in season: for example the first day of winter in the North. Solar heating and stored energy in the Earth's surface and atmosphere are near...

APOD: 2022 January 4 - Moons Beyond Rings at Saturn Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 4 Moons Beyond Rings at Saturn Image Credit: NASA, ESA, JPL, Cassini Imaging Team Explanation: What's happened to that moon of Saturn?Nothing -- Saturn's moon Rhea is just partly hidden behind Saturn's rings.In 2010, the robotic Cassini spacecraft then orbiting Saturn took this narrow-angle view looking across theSolar System's mostfamous rings.Rings visible in the foreground include the thinF ring on the outside and the much widerA and B rings just interior to it.Although it seems to be hoveringover the rings, Saturn's moonJanus is actually far behind them. Janus is one ofSaturn's smallermoonsand measures only about 180 kilometers across.Farther out from the camera is the heavily crateredRhea, a much larger moonmeasuring 1,500 kilometers across.The top of Rhea is visible only throughgaps in the rings.After more than a decade of exploration and discovery, the Cassini spacecraft ran low on fuel in 2017 and was directed to enter Saturn's atmosphere, where it surely melted. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: a year of sunrises <| Archive|...

You couldn't see Comet Leonard’s

APOD: 2022 January 2 - Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Winter Road Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 2 Quadruple Lunar Halo Over Winter Road Image Credit & Copyright: Dani Caxete Explanation: Sometimes falling ice crystals make the atmosphere into a giant lens causing arcs and halos to appear around the Sun or Moon.One Saturday night in 2012 was just such a time nearMadrid,Spain,where a winter sky displayed not only a bright Moon but four rare lunar halos. The brightest object, near the top of the featured image, is the Moon.Light from the Moonrefracts through tumbling hexagonal ice crystals into a somewhat rare22-degree haloseen surrounding the Moon.Elongating the 22-degree arc horizontally is a more rare circumscribed halo caused by column ice crystals.Even more rare, some moonlight refracts through more distant tumbling ice crystals to form a (third)rainbow-like arc 46 degrees from the Moon and appearing here just above a picturesque winter landscape.Furthermore, part of a whole 46-degree circular halo is also visible, so that an extremely rare -- especially for the Moon -- quadruple halo was captured.Far in the background is a...

APOD: 2022 January 1 - The Full Moon of 2021 Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2022 January 1 The Full Moon of 2021 Image Credit &Copyright:Soumyadeep Mukherjee Explanation: Every Full Moon of 2021 shines in this year-spanning astrophoto project,a composite portrait ofthe familiar lunar nearside at each brightestlunar phase.Arranged by moonth,the year progresses in stripes beginning at the top.Taken with the same camera and lens the stripes are from Full Moonimages all combined at the same pixel scale.The stripes still looked mismatched, but they showthat the Full Moon's angular size changes throughout the yeardepending on itsdistance from Kolkata, India, planet Earth.The calendar month,a full moon name, distance in kilometers, and angularsize is indicated for each stripe.Angular size is given in minutes of arc corresponding to 1/60th of a degree.The largest Full Moon isnear a perigee or closest approachin May.The smallest isnear an apogee,the most distant Full Moon in December.Of course the full moons ofMay and Novemberalso slid into Earth's shadowduring 2021's two lunar eclipses. Tomorrow's picture: bright moon halos<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors...

APOD: 2021 December 31 - JWST on the Road to L2 Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe isfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2021 December 31 JWST on the Road to L2 Image Credit &Copyright:Malcolm Park(North York Astronomical Association) Explanation: This timelapse gif tracks theJames Webb Space Telescope asit streaks across the stars of Orion on its journey to a destinationbeyond the Moon.Recorded on December 28, 12 consecutive exposures each 10 minutes longwere aligned and combined with a subsequent color image of the background starsto create the animation.About 2.5 days after its December 25 launch, JWST cruised pastthe altitudeof the Moon's orbit as it climbed up the gravity ridgefrom Earth to reach a halo orbit around L2, anEarth-Sun Lagrange point.Lagrange points are convenient locations in space wherethe combined gravitational attraction of one massive body (Earth)orbiting another massive body (Sun)is in balance with the centripetal force needed tomove along with them.So much smaller masses, like spacecraft, will tend to staythere.One of 5 Lagrange points, L2 is about 1.5 million kilometers from Earthdirectly along the Earth-Sun line.JWST will arrive at L2 on January 23, 29 days after launch.While relaxing in Earth's...