Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 21 The Butterfly Nebula from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble;Processing: William Ostling Explanation: Stars can make beautiful patterns as they age -- sometimes similar to flowers or insects.NGC 6302, the Butterfly Nebula, is a notable example. Though its gaseous wingspan covers over 3 light-years and its estimated surface temperature exceeds 200,000 degreesC,the aging central star of NGC 6302, the featured planetary nebula, has become exceptionally hot, shining brightly in visible and ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust.This sharp close-up was recorded by the HubbleSpace Telescope and is processed here to show off remarkabledetails of the complex planetary nebula, highlighting in particular light emitted by oxygen (shown as blue), hydrogen (green), and nitrogen (red).NGC 6302lies about 3,500 light-years away in thearachnologically correct constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius).Planetary nebulas evolve from outer atmospheres of stars like our Sun, but usually fade in about 20,000 years. Tomorrow's picture: double space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors &...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 20 Airglow Ripples over Tibet Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai Explanation: Why would the sky look like a giant target?Airglow.Following a giant thunderstorm over Bangladesh in late April, giant circular ripples of glowing air appeared over Tibet, China, as pictured here.The unusual pattern is created by atmospheric gravity waves, waves of alternating air pressure that can grow with height as the air thins, in this case about 90-kilometers up. Unlike auroras powered by collisions with energetic charged particles and seen at high latitudes, airglow is due to chemiluminescence, the production of light in a chemical reaction. More typically seen near the horizon, airglow keeps the night sky from ever being completely dark. Tomorrow's picture: butterfly sky <| 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,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2022 November 18 - The Protostar within L1527 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 November 18 The Protostar within L1527 Image Credit:Science -NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,NIRCamProcessing - Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer(STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Explanation: The protostar withindark cloud L1527 is a mere 100,000 years old,still embedded in the cloud of gas and dust that feeds its growth.In this NIRCam image from the James Webb Space Telescope,the dark band at the neck of the infrared nebulais a thick disk that surrounds theyoung stellar object. Viewed nearly edge-on and a little larger than our Solar System,the disk ultimately supplies material to theprotostar whilehiding it from Webb's direct infrared view.The nebula itself is seen in stunning detail though.Illuminated by infrared light from the protostar,the hourglass-shaped nebula's cavities arecreated asmaterial ejectedin the star-forming process plows through the surrounding medium.As the protostar gains mass it will eventually become a full-fledgedstar, collapsing and igniting nuclear fusion in its core.A likely analog to our own Sun and Solar System in their early infancy,the protostar within dark cloud L1527 lies some 460 light-years distantin the Taurus star-forming region.Webb's NIRCam...
APOD: 2022 November 17 - Planet Earth from Orion 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 November 17 Planet Earth from Orion Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: A Space Launch System rocket left planet Earthon Wednesday, November 16 at 1:47am EST carrying the Orion spacecraft on theArtemis 1 mission, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep spaceexploration systems.Over an hour afterliftoff fromKennedy Space Center'shistoricLaunch Complex 39B,one of Orion'sexternal video camerascaptured this view of its new perspectivefrom space.In the foreground are Orion's Orbital Maneuvering System engineand auxillary engines,at the bottom of the European Service Module.Beyond one of the module's 7-meter long extended solar array wingslies the spacecraft'sbeautiful home world.The Artemis 1 missionwill last almost four weeks,testing capabilities to enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars.The uncrewed Orion spacecraft isexpected to fly by the Moonon November 21, performing a close approach to thelunar surface on its way to aretrograde orbit 70,000 kilometers beyond the Moon. Tomorrow's picture: the protostar within <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 18 The Protostar within L1527 Image Credit:Science -NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,NIRCamProcessing - Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer(STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Explanation: The protostar withindark cloud L1527 is a mere 100,000 years old,still embedded in the cloud of gas and dust that feeds its growth.In this NIRCam image from the James Webb Space Telescope,the dark band at the neck of the infrared nebulais a thick disk that surrounds theyoung stellar object. Viewed nearly edge-on and a little larger than our Solar System,the disk ultimately supplies material to theprotostar whilehiding it from Webb's direct infrared view.The nebula itself is seen in stunning detail though.Illuminated by infrared light from the protostar,the hourglass-shaped nebula's cavities arecreated asmaterial ejectedin the star-forming process plows through the surrounding medium.As the protostar gains mass it will eventually become a full-fledgedstar, collapsing and igniting nuclear fusion in its core.A likely analog to our own Sun and Solar System in their early infancy,the protostar within dark cloud L1527 lies some 460 light-years distantin the Taurus star-forming region.Webb's NIRCam imagespans about 0.3 light-years....
APOD: 2022 November 16 - In the Arms of NGC 1097 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 November 16 In the Arms of NGC 1097 Image Credit &Copyright: Mike Selby,Mark Hanson Explanation: Spiral galaxy NGC 1097shines in southern skies, about45 million light-years away in the heated constellationFornax.Its blue spiral arms are mottled with pinkish star forming regions inthis colorful galaxy portrait.They seem to have wrapped around a small companion galaxy above andright of center, about 40,000 light-years from the spiral's luminous core.That's not NGC 1097's only peculiar feature, though.This very deep exposure hints of faint,mysterious jets, seen to extend well beyond the bluish arms.In fact, four faint jets are ultimatelyrecognizedin optical images of NGC 1097.The jetstrace an X centered on the galaxy's nucleus, but probably don'toriginate there.Instead, they could be fossil star streams,trails left over from thecapture and disruption of a much smaller galaxy in thelarge spiral's ancient past.A Seyfertgalaxy, NGC 1097's nucleus also harbors asupermassive black hole. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 17 Planet Earth from Orion Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: A Space Launch System rocket left planet Earthon Wednesday, November 16 at 1:47am EST carrying the Orion spacecraft on theArtemis 1 mission, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep spaceexploration systems.Over an hour afterliftoff fromKennedy Space Center'shistoricLaunch Complex 39B,one of Orion'sexternal video camerascaptured this view of its new perspectivefrom space.In the foreground are Orion's Orbital Maneuvering System engineand auxillary engines,at the bottom of the European Service Module.Beyond one of the module's 7-meter long extended solar array wingslies the spacecraft'sbeautiful home world.The Artemis 1 missionwill last almost four weeks,testing capabilities to enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars.The uncrewed Orion spacecraft isexpected to fly by the Moonon November 21, performing a close approach to thelunar surface on its way to aretrograde orbit 70,000 kilometers beyond the Moon. Tomorrow's picture: the protostar within <| 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...
APOD: 2022 November 15 - Wolfs Cave Nebula 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 November 15 Wolf's Cave Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Gianni Lacroce Explanation: The mysterious blue reflection nebula found in catalogs as VdB 152 or Ced 201 really is very faint.It lies at the tip of the longdark nebula Barnard 175 in adusty complex that has also been calledWolf's Cave.At the center of this deep telescopic view, the cosmic apparitions are nearly 1,400 light-years away along the northern Milky Wayin the royal constellation Cepheus.Interstellar dust in the region blocks light frombackground stars and scatters light from the embedded bright star,giving the end nebula its characteristic blue color.Though stars do form inmolecular clouds, this starseems to have only accidentally wanderedinto the area, as its measured velocity throughspace is very different from the cloud's velocity.At the image bottom is the planetary nebula Dengel-Hartl 5, whilered glowing gas from an ancient supernova remnant is also visible along the image's right side. Tomorrow's picture: open space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 16 In the Arms of NGC 1097 Image Credit &Copyright: Mike Selby,Mark Hanson Explanation: Spiral galaxy NGC 1097shines in southern skies, about45 million light-years away in the heated constellationFornax.Its blue spiral arms are mottled with pinkish star forming regions inthis colorful galaxy portrait.They seem to have wrapped around a small companion galaxy above andright of center, about 40,000 light-years from the spiral's luminous core.That's not NGC 1097's only peculiar feature, though.This very deep exposure hints of faint,mysterious jets, seen to extend well beyond the bluish arms.In fact, four faint jets are ultimatelyrecognizedin optical images of NGC 1097.The jetstrace an X centered on the galaxy's nucleus, but probably don'toriginate there.Instead, they could be fossil star streams,trails left over from thecapture and disruption of a much smaller galaxy in thelarge spiral's ancient past.A Seyfertgalaxy, NGC 1097's nucleus also harbors asupermassive black hole. 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 Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights...
APOD: 2022 November 14 - NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula 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 November 14 NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Ioan Popa Explanation: What powers are being wielded in the Wizard Nebula? Gravitation strong enough to form stars, and stellar winds and radiations powerful enough to create and dissolve towers of gas. Located only 8,000 light years away, the Wizard nebula, featured here, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans 100 about light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun. Tomorrow's picture: in wolf's cave <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 15 Wolf's Cave Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Gianni Lacroce Explanation: The mysterious blue reflection nebula found in catalogs as VdB 152 or Ced 201 really is very faint.It lies at the tip of the longdark nebula Barnard 175 in adusty complex that has also been calledWolf's Cave.At the center of this deep telescopic view, the cosmic apparitions are nearly 1,400 light-years away along the northern Milky Wayin the royal constellation Cepheus.Interstellar dust in the region blocks light frombackground stars and scatters light from the embedded bright star,giving the end nebula its characteristic blue color.Though stars do form inmolecular clouds, this starseems to have only accidentally wanderedinto the area, as its measured velocity throughspace is very different from the cloud's velocity.At the image bottom is the planetary nebula Dengel-Hartl 5, whilered glowing gas from an ancient supernova remnant is also visible along the image's right side. Tomorrow's picture: open space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...
APOD: 2022 November 13 - Flying Saucer Crash Lands in Utah Desert 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 November 13 Flying Saucer Crash Lands in Utah Desert Image Credit: USAF 388th Range Sqd., Genesis Mission, NASA Explanation: A flying saucer from outer space crash-landed in the Utah desert after being tracked by radar and chased by helicopters. The year was 2004, and no space aliens were involved. The saucer, pictured here, was the Genesis sample return capsule, part of a human-made robotGenesis spaceship launched in 2001 by NASA itself to study the Sun. The unexpectedlyhard landingat over 300 kilometers per hour occurred because theparachutes did not open as planned. The Genesis mission had been orbiting theSun collectingsolar wind particles that areusually deflected away byEarth's magnetic field.Despite the crash landing, many return samples remained in good enough condition to analyze.So far, Genesis-related discoveries include new details about thecomposition of theSun and how the abundance of some types of elements differ across the Solar System.These results have provided intriguing clues into details of how the Sun and planets formed billions of years ago. Tomorrow's...
Astronomy Picture of the Day 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 November 14 NGC 7380: The Wizard Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Ioan Popa Explanation: What powers are being wielded in the Wizard Nebula? Gravitation strong enough to form stars, and stellar winds and radiations powerful enough to create and dissolve towers of gas. Located only 8,000 light years away, the Wizard nebula, featured here, surrounds developing open star cluster NGC 7380. Visually, the interplay of stars, gas, and dust has created a shape that appears to some like a fictional medieval sorcerer. The active star forming region spans 100 about light years, making it appear larger than the angular extent of the Moon. The Wizard Nebula can be located with a small telescope toward the constellation of the King of Aethiopia (Cepheus). Although the nebula may last only a few million years, some of the stars being formed may outlive our Sun. Tomorrow's picture: in wolf's cave <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific...