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 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 picture: sky wizard <| Archive| Submissions |...

APOD: 2022 November 11 - Blood Moon, Ice Giant 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 11 Blood Moon, Ice Giant Image Credit &Copyright: Ryan Han Explanation: On November 8 the Full Moonturned blood red as it slid through Earth'sshadow in a beautiful total lunar eclipse.During totalityit also passed in front of, orocculted, outer planet Uranusfor eclipse viewers located in parts of northern America and Asia.For a close-up and wider viewthese two images were taken just before the occultation began,captured with different telescopes and camerasfrom the same roof top in Shanghai, China.Normally very faint compared to a Full Moon, the tiny,pale, greenish disk of thedistant ice giantis just to the left of the Moon's edge and aboutto disappear behind the darkened, red lunar limb.Though only visible from certain locations across planet Earth,lunar occultations of planets arefairly common.But for this rare "lunar eclipse occultation" to take place,at the time of the total eclipse the outer planet had to be both atopposition and very near the ecliptic plane tofall in line with Sun, Earth, and Moon. Lunar Eclipse of November 2022: Notable Submissions to...

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 12 Eclipse in the City Image Credit &Copyright: Stan Honda Explanation: A darker Moon sets over Manhattan in this night skyscape.The 16 frame composite was assembled from consecutiveexposures recorded during theNovember 8 total lunar eclipse.In the timelapse sequence stars leave short trails above theurban skyline,while the Moon remains immersedin Earth's shadow.But the International Space Station was just emergingfrom the shadowinto the sunlit portion of its low Earth orbit.As seen fromNew York City, the visible streak of this ISS flyover startsnear a star in Taurus and tracks right to left,through the belt of Orion and over Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major.Gaps along the bright trail of the fast moving orbital outpost(and an aircraft flying closer to the horizon)mark the time between individual exposures in the sequence.The trail of bright planet Mars is at the top of the frame.Pleiadesstar cluster trails are high over the eclipsed Moon andEmpire State Building. Lunar Eclipse of November 2022: Notable Submissions to APOD Love Eclipses? (US): Apply to become a NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador Tomorrow's...

APOD: 2022 November 10 - Total Lunar Eclipse 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 10 Total Lunar Eclipse Image Credit: KPNO / NOIRLab /NSF /AURA / Petr Horalek(Institute of Physics in Opava) Explanation: The beginning, middle, and endof a journey through planet Earth's colorfulumbral shadowis captured in this timelapse composite image of atotal lunar eclipse.Taken onNovember 8from Kitt Peak National Observatorythis eclipse's 1 hour and 25 minute long total phase starts on the right and finishes on the left.Reddened sunlight, scattered into the central shadow by Earth'sdusty atmosphere produces thedramatic dark red hues reflected by the lunar disk.For this eclipse, additional reddening is likely due to scatteringfrom ash lingering in the atmosphere after a largevolcanic eruption in the southern Pacificearlier this year.Seen at the right and left, the Earth's shadow is still lighteralong its edge though.That faint bluish fringealong the lunar limb is colored bysunlight filtered through Earth's stratosphericozone layer. Lunar Eclipse of November 2022: Notable Submissions to APOD Love Eclipses? (US): Apply to become a NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador Tomorrow's picture: ice giant, red moon <| Archive| Submissions | Index|...

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 11 Blood Moon, Ice Giant Image Credit &Copyright: Ryan Han Explanation: On November 8 the Full Moonturned blood red as it slid through Earth'sshadow in a beautiful total lunar eclipse.During totalityit also passed in front of, orocculted, outer planet Uranusfor eclipse viewers located in parts of northern America and Asia.For a close-up and wider viewthese two images were taken just before the occultation began,captured with different telescopes and camerasfrom the same roof top in Shanghai, China.Normally very faint compared to a Full Moon, the tiny,pale, greenish disk of thedistant ice giantis just to the left of the Moon's edge and aboutto disappear behind the darkened, red lunar limb.Though only visible from certain locations across planet Earth,lunar occultations of planets arefairly common.But for this rare "lunar eclipse occultation" to take place,at the time of the total eclipse the outer planet had to be both atopposition and very near the ecliptic plane tofall in line with Sun, Earth, and Moon. Lunar Eclipse of November 2022: Notable Submissions to APOD Love Eclipses? (US):...

APOD: 2022 November 9 - The Asymmetric Nebula Surrounding Wolf Rayet Star 18 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 9 The Asymmetric Nebula Surrounding Wolf-Rayet Star 18 Image Credit & Copyright: Alex Woronow Explanation: Why does the nebula around the star WR-18 shine brighter on one side?Also known as NGC 3199, this active star and its surrounding nebula lie about 12,000 light-years away toward the nautical southern constellationof Carina.The featured deep image has been highly processed to bring out filamentary details of the glowing gas in the bubble-shaped nebula. The nebula is about 75 light-years across.Near the nebula's center is aWolf-Rayet star, WR-18, which is a massive, hot, short-lived star that generates an intense and complex stellar wind.In fact, Wolf-Rayet stars are known to create nebulaswith interesting shapesas their powerful winds sweep up surroundinginterstellarmaterial.In this case, the bright right edge was initially thought to indicate that abow shock was being produced as the star plowed through a uniform medium, like a boat through water.Recent measurements and analyses, however, have shown the star is not moving quickly toward the bright edge.A more...

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 10 Total Lunar Eclipse Image Credit: KPNO / NOIRLab /NSF /AURA / Petr Horalek(Institute of Physics in Opava) Explanation: The beginning, middle, and endof a journey through planet Earth's colorfulumbral shadowis captured in this timelapse composite image of atotal lunar eclipse.Taken onNovember 8from Kitt Peak National Observatorythis eclipse's 1 hour and 25 minute long total phase starts on the right and finishes on the left.Reddened sunlight, scattered into the central shadow by Earth'sdusty atmosphere produces thedramatic dark red hues reflected by the lunar disk.For this eclipse, additional reddening is likely due to scatteringfrom ash lingering in the atmosphere after a largevolcanic eruption in the southern Pacificearlier this year.Seen at the right and left, the Earth's shadow is still lighteralong its edge though.That faint bluish fringealong the lunar limb is colored bysunlight filtered through Earth's stratosphericozone layer. Tomorrow's picture: ice giant, red moon <| 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...

APOD: 2022 November 8 - Galaxies: Wilds Triplet from Hubble 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 8 Galaxies: Wild's Triplet from Hubble Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. Dalcanton Explanation: How many galaxies are interacting here? This grouping of galaxies is called the Wild Triplet, not only for the discoverer, but for the number of bright galaxies that appear.It had been assumed that all three galaxies, collectively cataloged as Arp 248, are interacting, but more recent investigations reveal that only the brightest two galaxies are sparring gravitationally: the big galaxies at the top and bottom.The spiral galaxy in the middle of the featured image by the Hubble Space Telescope is actually far in the distance, as is the galaxy just below it and all of the other numerous galaxies in the field. A striking result of these giants jousting is a tremendous bridge of stars, gas, and dust that stretches between them -- a bridge almost 200,000 light-years long.Light we see today from Wild's Triplet left about 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.In perhaps a billion...

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 9 The Asymmetric Nebula Surrounding Wolf-Rayet Star 18 Image Credit & Copyright: Alex Woronow Explanation: Why does the nebula around the star WR-18 shine brighter on one side?Also known as NGC 3199, this active star and its surrounding nebula lie about 12,000 light-years away toward the nautical southern constellationof Carina.The featured deep image has been highly processed to bring out filamentary details of the glowing gas in the bubble-shaped nebula. The nebula is about 75 light-years across.Near the nebula's center is aWolf-Rayet star, WR-18, which is a massive, hot, short-lived star that generates an intense and complex stellar wind.In fact, Wolf-Rayet stars are known to create nebulaswith interesting shapesas their powerful winds sweep up surroundinginterstellarmaterial.In this case, the bright right edge was initially thought to indicate that abow shock was being produced as the star plowed through a uniform medium, like a boat through water.Recent measurements and analyses, however, have shown the star is not moving quickly toward the bright edge.A more likely explanation has emerged that thematerial surrounding the...

APOD: 2022 November 7 - A Total Lunar Eclipse Over Tajikistan 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. A Total Lunar Eclipse Over Tajikistan Video Credit & Copyright: Jean-Luc Dauvergne(Ciel et Espace); Music: Valère Leroy & Sophie Huet(Space-Music) Explanation: If the full Moon suddenly faded, what would you see?The answer was recorded in a dramatic time lapsevideo taken during the total lunareclipse in 2011 fromTajikistan.During atotal lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun, causing the moon to fade dramatically.The Moon never gets completely dark, though, since the Earth's atmosphererefracts some light.As the featured video begins, the scene may appear to be daytime and sunlit, but actually it is a nighttime and lit by the glow of the full Moon.As the Moon becomes eclipsed and fades, background stars become visible and here can be seen reflected in a lake.Most spectacularly, thesky surrounding the eclipsed moonsuddenly appears to befull of stars and highlighted by the busy plane of ourMilky Way Galaxy.The sequence repeats with a closer view, and the final image shows the placement of the eclipsed Moon near theEagle,Swan,Trifid, andLagoon nebulas.Nearly...

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 8 Galaxies: Wild's Triplet from Hubble Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, J. Dalcanton Explanation: How many galaxies are interacting here? This grouping of galaxies is called the Wild Triplet, not only for the discoverer, but for the number of bright galaxies that appear.It had been assumed that all three galaxies, collectively cataloged as Arp 248, are interacting, but more recent investigations reveal that only the brightest two galaxies are sparring gravitationally: the big galaxies at the top and bottom.The spiral galaxy in the middle of the featured image by the Hubble Space Telescope is actually far in the distance, as is the galaxy just below it and all of the other numerous galaxies in the field. A striking result of these giants jousting is a tremendous bridge of stars, gas, and dust that stretches between them -- a bridge almost 200,000 light-years long.Light we see today from Wild's Triplet left about 200 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.In perhaps a billion years or so, the two...

APOD: 2022 November 6 - Dark Ball in Inverted Starfield 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 6 Dark Ball in Inverted Starfield Image Credit: Jim Lafferty Explanation: Does this strange dark ball look somehow familiar?If so, that might be because it is our Sun.In the featured image from 2012, a detailed solar view was captured originally in a very specific color of red light, then rendered in black and white, and then color inverted.Once complete, the resulting image was added to a starfield, then also color inverted.Visible in the image of the Sun are long light filaments, dark active regions, prominences peeking around the edge, and a moving carpet of hot gas.The surface of our Sun can be a busy place, in particular during Solar Maximum, the time when its surface magnetic field is wound up the most.Besides an active Sun being so picturesque, the plasma expelled can also become picturesque when it impacts the Earth's magnetosphere and creates auroras. Compute it Yourself: Browse 2,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library Tomorrow's picture: faded moon <| Archive| Submissions | Index|...

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. A Total Lunar Eclipse Over Tajikistan Video Credit & Copyright: Jean-Luc Dauvergne(Ciel et Espace); Music: Valère Leroy & Sophie Huet(Space-Music) Explanation: If the full Moon suddenly faded, what would you see?The answer was recorded in a dramatic time lapsevideo taken during the total lunareclipse in 2011 fromTajikistan.During atotal lunar eclipse, the Earth moves between the Moon and the Sun, causing the moon to fade dramatically.The Moon never gets completely dark, though, since the Earth's atmosphererefracts some light.As the featured video begins, the scene may appear to be daytime and sunlit, but actually it is a nighttime and lit by the glow of the full Moon.As the Moon becomes eclipsed and fades, background stars become visible and here can be seen reflected in a lake.Most spectacularly, thesky surrounding the eclipsed moonsuddenly appears to befull of stars and highlighted by the busy plane of ourMilky Way Galaxy.The sequence repeats with a closer view, and the final image shows the placement of the eclipsed Moon near theEagle,Swan,Trifid, andLagoon nebulas.Nearly two hours after the eclipse started,...

APOD: 2022 November 5 - Lunar Eclipse at the South Pole 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 5 Lunar Eclipse at the South Pole Image Credit &Copyright: Aman Chokshi Explanation: Last May 16 the Moonslid through Earth's shadow, completely immersed in the planet'sdark umbrafor about 1 hour and 25 minutes during a total lunar eclipse.In this composited timelapse view,the partial and total phasesof the eclipse were captured as the Moon tracked above the horizonfrom Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.There it shared a cold and starry south polar night with asurging display of the aurora australisand central Milky Way.In the foreground are the BICEP (right) andSouth Pole telescopes at the southernmost station's Dark Sector Laboratory.But while polar skies can be spectacular,you won't want togo to the South Poleto view the total lunar eclipsecoming up on November 8.Instead, that eclipse can be seen fromlocations in Asia, Australia, the Pacific, the Americas and Northern Europe.It will be your last chance to watch atotal lunar eclipse until 2025. Tomorrow's picture: inverted Sun day <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| >...

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 6 Dark Ball in Inverted Starfield Image Credit: Jim Lafferty Explanation: Does this strange dark ball look somehow familiar?If so, that might be because it is our Sun.In the featured image from 2012, a detailed solar view was captured originally in a very specific color of red light, then rendered in black and white, and then color inverted.Once complete, the resulting image was added to a starfield, then also color inverted.Visible in the image of the Sun are long light filaments, dark active regions, prominences peeking around the edge, and a moving carpet of hot gas.The surface of our Sun can be a busy place, in particular during Solar Maximum, the time when its surface magnetic field is wound up the most.Besides an active Sun being so picturesque, the plasma expelled can also become picturesque when it impacts the Earth's magnetosphere and creates auroras. Compute it Yourself: Browse 2,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library Tomorrow's picture: nebular mystery <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About...