APOD: 2024 October 11 - Ring of Fire over Easter Island 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. 2024 October 11 Ring of Fire over Easter Island Image Credit &Copyright: Yuri Beletsky(CarnegieLas Campanas Observatory,TWAN) Explanation: The second solar eclipseof 2024 began in the Pacific.On October 2nd the Moon's shadow swept fromwest to east, with anannular eclipse visiblealong a narrow antumbral shadow path tracking mostly over ocean,making its only major landfallnear the southern tip of South America,and then ending in the southern Atlantic.The dramatic total annular eclipse phaseis known to some as aring of fire.Also tracking across islands in the southern Pacific, the Moon'santumbral shadow grazed Easter Island allowingdenizens to followall phases of the annular eclipse.Framed bypalm tree leaves this clear island viewis a stack of two images, one taken with and one taken withouta solar filter near themoment of the maximum annular phase.The New Moon's silhouetteappears just off center, though stillengulfed by the bright disk of the active Sun. Growing Gallery: Global aurora during October 10/11, 2024 Tomorrow's picture: sky lights<| 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. 2024 October 12 Northern Lights, West Virginia Image Credit &Copyright: Jonathan Eggleston Explanation: A gravel country lane gently winds through thiscolorful ruralnight skyscape.Captured from Monroe County in southern West Virginiaon the evening of October 10,the starry sky above is a familiar sight.Shimmering curtains of aurora borealis ornorthern lights definitely do not make regular appearances here, though.Surprisingly vividauroral displays were present on that night at very low latitudesaround the globe,far from their usual northern and southernhigh latitude realms.The extensive auroral activity was evidence of a severegeomagnetic stormtriggered by the impact of acoronal massejection (CME), an immense magnetized cloud of energetic plasma.The CME was launched toward Earthfrom the active Sun following a powerfulX-class solar flare. Growing Gallery: Global aurora during October 10/11, 2024 Tomorrow's picture: aurora in motion <| 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 ScienceActivation& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2024 October 10 - Five Bright Comets from SOHO 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. 2024 October 10 Five Bright Comets from SOHO Image Compilation Credit: Tunc Tezel(TWAN) Explanation: Five bright comets are compared in these panels, recorded bya coronograph on board the long-lived, sun-staringSOHO spacecraft.Arranged chronologically all are recognizable by theirtailsstreamingawayfrom the Sun at the center ofeach field of view, wherea direct view of the overwhelmingly bright Sun is blocked bythe coronagraph's occulting disk.Each comet was memorable for earthbound skygazers, startingat top left withComet McNaught,the 21st century's brightest comet (so far).C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas,approaching its perihelion with the active Sun at bottom center,has most recently grabbed theattention of comet watchers around the globe.By the end of October 2024, the blank 6th panel may befilled with bright sungrazer cometC/2024 S1 Atlas....or not. Tomorrow's picture: ring of fire island<| 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 ScienceActivation& 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. 2024 October 11 Ring of Fire over Easter Island Image Credit &Copyright: Yuri Beletsky(CarnegieLas Campanas Observatory,TWAN) Explanation: The second solar eclipseof 2024 began in the Pacific.On October 2nd the Moon's shadow swept fromwest to east, with anannular eclipse visiblealong a narrow antumbral shadow path tracking mostly over ocean,making its only major landfallnear the southern tip of South America,and then ending in the southern Atlantic.The dramatic total annular eclipse phaseis known to some as aring of fire.Also tracking across islands in the southern Pacific, the Moon'santumbral shadow grazed Easter Island allowingdenizens to followall phases of the annular eclipse.Framed bypalm tree leaves this clear island viewis a stack of two images, one taken with and one taken withouta solar filter near themoment of the maximum annular phase.The New Moon's silhouetteappears just off center, though stillengulfed by the bright disk of the active Sun. 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...
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. 2024 October 10 Five Bright Comets from SOHO Image Compilation Credit: Tunc Tezel(TWAN) Explanation: Five bright comets are compared in these panels, recorded bya coronograph on board the long-lived, sun-staringSOHO spacecraft.Arranged chronologically all are recognizable by theirtailsstreamingawayfrom the Sun at the center ofeach field of view, wherea direct view of the overwhelmingly bright Sun is blocked bythe coronagraph's occulting disk.Each comet was memorable for earthbound skygazers, startingat top left withComet McNaught,the 21st century's brightest comet (so far).C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas,approaching its perihelion with the active Sun at bottom center,has most recently grabbed theattention of comet watchers around the globe.By the end of October 2024, the blank 6th panel may befilled with bright sungrazer cometC/2024 S1 Atlas....or not. Tomorrow's picture: ring of fire island<| 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 ScienceActivation& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2024 October 4 - Comet at Moonrise 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. 2024 October 4 Comet at Moonrise Image Credit &Copyright: Gabriel Zaparolli Explanation: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)is growing brighter in planet Earth's sky.Fondly known as comet A3,this new visitor to the inner Solar System is traveling from thedistant Oort cloud.The comet reached perihelion,its closest approach to the Sun,on September 27 and will reach perigee, itsclosest to our fair planet, on October 12,by then becoming an evening sky apparition.But comet A3was an early morning riser on September 30when this image was made.Its bright coma and already long tail share a pre-dawn skyscape fromPraia Grande, Santa Catarina in southern Brazil withthe waning crescent Moon just peeking above the eastern horizon.While the behaviour of comets isnotoriouslyunpredictable, Tsuchinshan–ATLAS could become acomet visually rivalingC/2020 F3 (NEOWISE).Comet NEOWISEwowed skygazers in the summer of 2020. Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024 Tomorrow's picture: not a comet<| 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...
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. 2024 October 5 M27: Not a Comet Image Credit &Copyright: Francesco Sferlazza, Franco Sgueglia Explanation: While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France,astronomer Charles Messierdiligently kept a list of the thingsencountered during his telescopic expeditionsthat were definitely not comets.This is number 27 on hisnow famous not-a-comet list.In fact, 21st century astronomers would identify it as aplanetarynebula, but it's not a planet either, even though it mayappear round andplanet-like in a small telescope.Messier 27 (M27) is an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebulacreated as a sun-like star runs outof nuclear fuel in its core.The nebula forms as the star's outer layers are expelled intospace, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dyingstar's intense but invisibleultraviolet light.Known by the popular name of theDumbbell Nebula,the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloudis over 2.5 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away in theconstellationVulpecula.This impressive color image highlights details withinthe well-studied central region and fainter, seldom imagedfeatures in the nebula's outer halo. Tomorrow's picture: a comet's tale<| Archive| Submissions | Index|...
APOD: 2024 October 3 - Eclipse at Sunrise 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. 2024 October 3 Eclipse at Sunrise Image Credit &Copyright: Wang Letian (Eyes at Night) Explanation: The second solar eclipseof 2024 began in the Pacific.On October 2nd the Moon's shadow swept fromwest to east, with anannular eclipse visible along anarrow antumbral shadow path tracking mostly over ocean, crossing landnear the southern tip of South America, and ending in the southernAtlantic.The dramatic total annular eclipse phaseis known to some as aring of fire.Still, a partial eclipse of the Sun was experienced over a wideregion.Captured at one of its earliest moments, October's eclipsedSun is seen just above the clouds near sunrise in this snapshot.The partially eclipsed solar disk is close to the maximum eclipseas seen from Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor Center,Island of Hawaii,planet Earth. Growing Gallery: Annular Solar Eclipse 2024 October Tomorrow's picture: comet at moonrise<| 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 ScienceActivation& Michigan...
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. 2024 October 4 Comet at Moonrise Image Credit &Copyright: Gabriel Zaparolli Explanation: Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)is growing brighter in planet Earth's sky.Fondly known as comet A3,this new visitor to the inner Solar System is traveling from thedistant Oort cloud.The comet reached perihelion,its closest approach to the Sun,on September 27 and will reach perigee, itsclosest to our fair planet, on October 12,by then becoming an evening sky apparition.But comet A3was an early morning riser on September 30when this image was made.Its bright coma and already long tail share a pre-dawn skyscape fromPraia Grande, Santa Catarina in southern Brazil withthe waning crescent Moon just peeking above the eastern horizon.While the behaviour of comets isnotoriouslyunpredictable, Tsuchinshan–ATLAS could become acomet visually rivalingC/2020 F3 (NEOWISE).Comet NEOWISEwowed skygazers in the summer of 2020. Growing Gallery: Comet Tsuchinsan-ATLAS in 2024 Tomorrow's picture: not a comet<| 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...
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. 2024 October 3 Eclipse at Sunrise Image Credit &Copyright: Wang Letian (Eyes at Night) Explanation: The second solar eclipseof 2024 began in the Pacific.On October 2nd the Moon's shadow swept fromwest to east, with anannular eclipse visible along anarrow antumbral shadow path tracking mostly over ocean, crossing landnear the southern tip of South America, and ending in the southernAtlantic.The dramatic total annular eclipse phaseis known to some as aring of fire.Still, a partial eclipse of the Sun was experienced over a wideregion.Captured at one of its earliest moments, October's eclipsedSun is seen just above the clouds near sunrise in this snapshot.The partially eclipsed solar disk is close to the maximum eclipseas seen from Mauna Kea Observatory Visitor Center,Island of Hawaii,planet Earth. Tomorrow's picture: comet at moonrise<| 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 ScienceActivation& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2024 September 27 - Stellar Streams in the Local Universe 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. 2024 September 27 Stellar Streams in the Local Universe Image Credit: David Martinez Delgado et al. Explanation: The twenty galaxiesarrayed in these panels are part ofan ambitious astronomical survey of tidal stellar streams.Each panel presents a composite view;a deep, inverted image taken from publiclyavailable imaging surveysof a field that surrounds anearby massive galaxy image.The inverted images reveal faint cosmic structures,star streams hundreds of thousands of light-years across,that result from the gravitational disruption andeventual merger of satellite galaxiesin thelocal universe.Such surveys of mergers and gravitational tidal interactionsbetween massive galaxies and their dwarf satellites arecrucial guides forcurrent models of galaxy formation and cosmology.Of course, the detection of stellar streams in theneighboring Andromeda Galaxy andour own Milky Wayalso offers spectacular evidence for ongoing satellitegalaxy disruption within our morelocal galaxy group. Tomorrow's picture: eclipse at sunset<| 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...
APOD: 2024 September 26 - The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules 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. 2024 September 26 The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules Image Credit &Copyright:Jan Beckmann, Julian Zoller, Lukas Eisert, Wolfgang Hummel Explanation: In 1716,English astronomerEdmond Halleynoted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shows itself to thenaked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent."Of course, M13is now less modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster inHercules, one of the brightestglobularstar clusters in the northern sky.Sharp telescopic views like this onereveal the spectacular cluster'shundreds of thousands of stars.At a distance of 25,000 light-years, thecluster stars crowdinto a region 150 light-years in diameter.Approaching the cluster core, upwards of 100 stars could be containedin a cube just 3 light-years on a side.For comparison, theclosest star to the Sun is over4 light-years away.The deep, wide-field image also reveals distant background galaxiesincluding NGC 6207 at the upper left, and faint, foregroundMilky Way dust clouds knownto some as integrated flux nebulae. Tomorrow's picture: in the local universe<| 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. 2024 September 27 Stellar Streams in the Local Universe Image Credit: David Martinez Delgado et al. Explanation: The twenty galaxiesarrayed in these panels are part ofan ambitious astronomical survey of tidal stellar streams.Each panel presents a composite view;a deep, inverted image taken from publiclyavailable imaging surveysof a field that surrounds anearby massive galaxy image.The inverted images reveal faint cosmic structures,star streams hundreds of thousands of light-years across,that result from the gravitational disruption andeventual merger of satellite galaxiesin thelocal universe.Such surveys of mergers and gravitational tidal interactionsbetween massive galaxies and their dwarf satellites arecrucial guides forcurrent models of galaxy formation and cosmology.Of course, the detection of stellar streams in theneighboring Andromeda Galaxy andour own Milky Wayalso offers spectacular evidence for ongoing satellitegalaxy disruption within our morelocal galaxy group. Tomorrow's picture: eclipse at sunset<| 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 ScienceActivation& 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. 2024 September 26 The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules Image Credit &Copyright:Jan Beckmann, Julian Zoller, Lukas Eisert, Wolfgang Hummel Explanation: In 1716,English astronomerEdmond Halleynoted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shows itself to thenaked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent."Of course, M13is now less modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster inHercules, one of the brightestglobularstar clusters in the northern sky.Sharp telescopic views like this onereveal the spectacular cluster'shundreds of thousands of stars.At a distance of 25,000 light-years, thecluster stars crowdinto a region 150 light-years in diameter.Approaching the cluster core, upwards of 100 stars could be containedin a cube just 3 light-years on a side.For comparison, theclosest star to the Sun is over4 light-years away.The deep, wide-field image also reveals distant background galaxiesincluding NGC 6207 at the upper left, and faint, foregroundMilky Way dust clouds knownto some as integrated flux nebulae. Tomorrow's picture: in the local universe<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...