APOD: 2023 December 14 - Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A 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. 2023 December 14 Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University),T. Temim (Princeton University),I. De Looze (University of Gent) Explanation: Massive starsin our Milky Way Galaxy live spectacular lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnacesignite and create heavy elements in their cores.After only a few million years for the most massive stars, theenriched material is blastedback into interstellar space where star formation can begin anew.The expanding debris cloud known as Cassiopeia A is an exampleof this final phase of thestellar life cycle.Light from the supernova explosion that created this remnantwould have been firstseen in planet Earth's skyabout 350 years ago,although it took that light 11,000 years to reach us.This sharp NIRCam imagefrom the James Webb Space Telescopeshows the still hot filaments and knots in the supernova remnant.The whitish, smoke-like outer shell of the expanding blast waveis about 20 light-years across.Light echoes from the massive star's cataclysmic explosion are alsoidentified in Webb's detailed imageof supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Tonight watch:The Geminids Tomorrow's picture:...

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. 2023 December 15 Betelgeuse Eclipsed Image Credit &Copyright:Sebastian Voltmer Explanation: Asteroid 319 Leonacast a shadow across planet Earth on December 12, as itpassed in front of bright star Betelgeuse.But to see everyone'sfavorite red giant star fadethis time, you had to standnear the centerof the narrow shadow path starting in central Mexico and extending eastwardacross southern Florida, the Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe, and Eurasia.The geocentric celestial event is captured in these two panels taken atAlmodovar del Rio, Spain from before (left) and duringthe asteroid-star occultation.In both panels Betelgeuse is seen above and left, at the shoulder ofthe familiar constellation Orion.Its brightness diminishesnoticeably during the exceedingly rareoccultation when, for several seconds, the giant starwas briefly eclipsed by a roughly 60 kilometer diametermain-belt asteroid. 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,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

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. 2023 December 14 Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;D. Milisavljevic (Purdue University),T. Temim (Princeton University),I. De Looze (University of Gent) Explanation: Massive starsin our Milky Way Galaxy live spectacular lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnacesignite and create heavy elements in their cores.After only a few million years for the most massive stars, theenriched material is blastedback into interstellar space where star formation can begin anew.The expanding debris cloud known as Cassiopeia A is an exampleof this final phase of thestellar life cycle.Light from the supernova explosion that created this remnantwould have been firstseen in planet Earth's skyabout 350 years ago,although it took that light 11,000 years to reach us.This sharp NIRCam imagefrom the James Webb Space Telescopeshows the still hot filaments and knots in the supernova remnant.The whitish, smoke-like outer shell of the expanding blast waveis about 20 light-years across, while thebright specknear center is a neutron star,the incredibly dense, collapsed remains of the massive stellar core.Light echoes from the massive star's cataclysmic explosion are alsoidentified...

APOD: 2023 December 8 - Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 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. 2023 December 8 Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: On December 4, periodicComet 12P/Pons-Brooksshared thistelescopic field of viewwith Vega, alpha star of the northern constellation Lyra.Fifth brightest star in planet Earth's night,Vega is some 25light-years distant whilethe much fainter comet was about 21 light-minutes away.In recent months,outbursts have caused dramatic increasesin brightness for Pons-Brooks though.Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance,fans of interstellar spaceflight have also suggestedthe distorted shape of this large comet's central coma looks like theMillenium Falcon.A Halley-type comet, 12P/Pons-Brookslast visited the innerSolar System in 1954.Its next perihelion passage or closest approach to the Sunwill be April 21, 2024.That's just two weeks after the April 8 totalsolar eclipse path crosses North America.But, highly inclined to the Solar System's ecliptic plane,the orbit of periodicComet 12P/Pons-Brookswill never cross the orbit of planet Earth. 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...

Near dawn on November 19

APOD: 2023 December 7 - Orion and the Ocean of Storms 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. 2023 December 7 Orion and the Ocean of Storms Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: On December 5, 2022,a camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft capturedthis view as Orionapproached its return powered flyby of the Moon. Beyond one of Orion's extended solar arrayslies dark, smooth, terrain along thewestern edge of the Oceanus Procellarum.Prominent on the lunar nearsideOceanus Procellarum,the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of theMoon's lava-flooded maria.The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day,runs along the left of this frame.The 41 kilometer diametercrater Mariusis top center, with raycrater Keplerpeeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing.Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching thedark-floored Marius.By December 11, 2022 the Orion spacecraft hadreached its home world.The historic Artemis 1 mission ended with Orion's successful splashdown inplanet Earth'swater-flooded Pacific Ocean. 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...

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. 2023 December 8 Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: On December 4, periodicComet 12P/Pons-Brooksshared thistelescopic field of viewwith Vega, alpha star of the northern constellation Lyra.Fifth brightest star in planet Earth's night,Vega is some 25light-years distant whilethe much fainter comet was about 21 light-minutes away.In recent months,outbursts have caused dramatic increasesin brightness for Pons-Brooks though.Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance,fans of interstellar spaceflight have also suggestedthe distorted shape of this comet's large coma looks like theMillenium Falcon.A Halley-type comet, 12P/Pons-Brookslast visited the innerSolar System in 1954.Its next perihelion passage or closest approach to the Sunwill be April 21, 2024.That's just two weeks after the April 8 totalsolar eclipse path crosses North America.But, highly inclined to the Solar System's ecliptic plane,the orbit ofperiodic Comet 12P/Pons-Brookswill never cross the orbit of planet Earth. 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...

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. 2023 December 7 Orion and the Ocean of Storms Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: On December 5, 2022,a camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft capturedthis view as Orionapproached its return powered flyby of the Moon. Beyond one of Orion's extended solar arrayslies dark, smooth, terrain along thewestern edge of the Oceanus Procellarum.Prominent on the lunar nearsideOceanus Procellarum,the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of theMoon's lava-flooded maria.The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day,runs along the left of this frame.The 41 kilometer diametercrater Mariusis top center, with raycrater Keplerpeeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing.Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching thedark-floored Marius.On December 11, 2022 the Orion spacecraftreached its home world.The historic Artemis 1 mission ended with Orion's successful splashdown inplanet Earth'swater-flooded Pacific Ocean. 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 apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy and Important NoticesA service...

APOD: 2023 December 1 - Milky Way Rising 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. 2023 December 1 Milky Way Rising Image Credit &Copyright: José Rodrigues Explanation: The core of the Milky Wayis rising beyond the Chilean mountain-topLa SillaObservatory in thisdeep night skyscape.Seen toward the constellation Sagittarius, our home galaxy's centeris flanked on the left, by the European Southern Observatory's NewTechnology Telescope which pioneered the use of active optics toaccurately control the shape of large telescope mirrors.To the right stands the ESO 3.6-meter Telescope,home of the exoplanet huntingHARPSandNIRPSspectrographs.Between them, thegalaxy's central bulgeis filled with obscuringclouds of interstellar dust, bright stars,clusters, and nebulae.Prominent reddish hydrogen emission from the star-formingLagoon Nebula, M8, is near center.The Trifid Nebula, M20, combines blue light of a dusty reflection nebulawith reddish emission just left of the cosmic Lagoon.Both are popularstops on telescopic tours of the galactic center.The composited imageis a stack of separate exposures for groundand sky made in April 2023, all captured consecutivelywith the same framing and camera equipment. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend <| 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. 2023 December 2 Startrails over Beijing Ancient Observatory Image Credit &Copyright:Jeff Dai(TWAN) Explanation: You can takea subway ride to visit thisobservatory in Beijing, Chinabut you won't find any telescopes there.Starting in the 1400s astronomers erected devices at theBeijing Ancient Observatorysite to enable them to accurately measure and track the positions ofnaked-eye stars and planets.Some of the large, ornateastronomical instrumentsare still standing.You can even see stars from the star observation platform today,but now only the very brightestcelestial beacons are visibleagainst the city lights.In this time series of exposures from a camera fixed to a tripodto record graceful arcing startrails,the brightest trail is actually the Moon.Its broad arc is seen behind the ancient observatory's brassarmillary sphere.Compare this picturefrom the Beijing Ancient Observatory taken in September 2023 toone taken in 1895. Tomorrow's picture: moonset <| 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: 2023 November 30 - Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 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. 2023 November 30 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis I Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28, 2022) of the Artemis I mission, theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from its home world.Over 430,000 kilometers from Earthin a distant retrograde orbit,Orion surpassed the record for most distantspacecraft designed to carry humans.That record was previously set in 1970 during theApollo 13 mission to the Moon.Both Earth and Moon are in thesame fieldof viewin this video frame from Orion on Artemis I mission flight day 13.The planet and its large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective. Tomorrow's picture: galaxy rise <| 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.

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. 2023 December 1 Milky Way Rising Image Credit &Copyright: José Rodrigues Explanation: The core of the Milky Wayis rising beyond the Chilean mountain-topLa SillaObservatory in thisdeep night skyscape.Seen toward the constellation Sagittarius, our home galaxy's centeris flanked on the left, by the European Southern Observatory's NewTechnology Telescope which pioneered the use of active optics toaccurately control the shape of large telescope mirrors.To the right stands the ESO 3.6-meter Telescope,home of the exoplanet huntingHARPSandNIRPSspectrographs.Between them, thegalaxy's central bulgeis filled with obscuringclouds of interstellar dust, bright stars,clusters, and nebulae.Prominent reddish hydrogen emission from the star-formingLagoon Nebula, M8, is near center.The Trifid Nebula, M20, combines blue light of a dusty reflection nebulawith reddish emission just left of the cosmic Lagoon.Both are popularstops on telescopic tours of the galactic center.The composited imageis a stack of separate exposures for groundand sky made in April 2023, all captured consecutivelywith the same framing and camera equipment. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...

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. 2023 November 30 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis I Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28, 2022) of the Artemis I mission, theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from its home world.Over 430,000 kilometers from Earthin a distant retrograde orbit,Orion surpassed the record for most distantspacecraft designed to carry humans.That record was previously set in 1970 during theApollo 13 mission to the Moon.Both Earth and Moon are in thesame fieldof viewin this video frame from Orion on Artemis I mission flight day 13.The planet and its large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective. Tomorrow's picture: galaxy rise <| 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: 2023 November 24 - Stereo Jupiter near Opposition 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. 2023 November 24 Stereo Jupiter near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright: Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Jupiter looks sharp in these tworooftop telescope images.Both were captured on November 17 from Singapore, planet Earth,about two weeks afterJupiter's 2023 opposition.Climbing high in midnight skies the giant planetwas a mere 33.4 light-minutes from Singapore.That's about 4 astronomical units away.Jupiter's planet girdlingdark belts and light zonesare visible in remarkable detail, along with the giant world'swhitish oval vortices.Its signatureGreat Red Spot is still prominent in the south.Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis once every 10 hours.So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes apart,these images form a stereo pair.Look at the center of the pair and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see theSolar System's ruling gas giantin 3D. 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,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

Immersed in an eerie greenish light, this rugged

APOD: 2023 November 23 - Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud 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. 2023 November 23 Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud Image Credit &Copyright: Yuexiao Shen,Joe Hua Explanation: The cosmic brush of star formation composedthis interstellar canvasof emission, dust, and dark nebulae.A 5 degree wide telescopic mosaic, it frames a regionfound north of bright star Aldebaran on the sky,at an inner wall ofthe local bubblealong the Taurus molecular cloud.At lower left, emission cataloged asSh2-239shows signs of embedded young stellar objects.The region's Herbig-Haro objects,nebulosities associatedwith newly born stars,are marked bytell-tale reddish jets of shocked hydrogen gas.Above and right T Tauri,the prototype of the class ofT Tauri variable stars,is next to a yellowish nebula historically known as Hind's VariableNebula (NGC 1555).T Tauri stars are now generally recognized as young,less than a few million years old,sun-like stars still in the earlystages of formation. Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Jupiter <| 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...

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. 2023 November 24 Stereo Jupiter near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright: Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Jupiter looks sharp in these tworooftop telescope images.Both were captured on November 17 from Singapore, planet Earth,about two weeks afterJupiter's 2023 opposition.Climbing high in midnight skies the giant planetwas a mere 33.4 light-minutes from Singapore.That's about 4 astronomical units away.Jupiter's planet girdlingdark belts and light zonesare visible in remarkable detail, along with the giant world'swhitish oval vortices.Its signatureGreat Red Spot is still prominent in the south.Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis once every 10 hours.So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes apart,these images form a stereo pair.Look at the center of the pair and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see theSolar System's ruling gas giantin 3D. 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,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2023 November 22 - IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis 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. 2023 November 22 IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit &Copyright: Steve Cannistra Explanation: Similarin size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood,IC 342is a mere 10 million light-yearsdistantin the long-necked, northern constellationCamelopardalis.A sprawling island universe,IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky,but it is hidden from clear view and onlyglimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust cloudsalong the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy.Even though IC 342's light is dimmed and reddened by interveningcosmic clouds,thissharp telescopic imagetraces the galaxy's own obscuring dust, young star clusters, andglowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far fromthe galaxy's core.IC 342 has undergone a recent burst ofstar formationactivity and is close enough to have gravitationally influencedthe evolution of thelocal groupof galaxies and the Milky Way. 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 apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy...

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. 2023 November 23 Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud Image Credit &Copyright: Yuexiao Shen,Joe Hua Explanation: The cosmic brush of star formation composedthis interstellar canvasof emission, dust, and dark nebulae.A 5 degree wide telescopic mosaic, it frames a regionfound north of bright star Aldebaran on the sky,at an inner wall ofthe local bubblealong the Taurus molecular cloud.At lower left, emission cataloged asSh2-239shows signs of embedded young stellar objects.The region's Herbig-Haro objects,nebulosities associatedwith newly born stars,are marked bytell-tale reddish jets of shocked hydrogen gas.Above and right T Tauri,the prototype of the class ofT Tauri variable stars,is next to a yellowish nebula historically known as Hind's VariableNebula (NGC 1555).T Tauri stars are now generally recognized as young,less than a few million years old,sun-like stars still in the earlystages of formation. Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Jupiter <| 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.

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. 2023 November 22 IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit &Copyright: Steve Cannistra Explanation: Similarin size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood,IC 342is a mere 10 million light-yearsdistantin the long-necked, northern constellationCamelopardalis.A sprawling island universe,IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky,but it is hidden from clear view and onlyglimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust cloudsalong the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy.Even though IC 342's light is dimmed and reddened by interveningcosmic clouds,thissharp telescopic imagetraces the galaxy's own obscuring dust, young star clusters, andglowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far fromthe galaxy's core.IC 342 has undergone a recent burst ofstar formationactivity and is close enough to have gravitationally influencedthe evolution of thelocal groupof galaxies and the Milky Way. 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 apply.NASA WebPrivacy Policy and Important NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA...