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 11 The SAR and the Milky Way Image Credit &Copyright:Julien Looten Explanation: This broad,luminous red arcwas a surprising visitor topartly cloudy evening skies over northern France.Captured extending toward the zenith in awest-to-east mosaicof images from November 5,the faint atmospheric ribbon of light isan example of a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc.The rarenight sky phenomenonwas also spotted atunusually low latitudes around world,along with more dynamic auroral displaysduring anintense geomagnetic storm.SAR arcs and their relation to auroral emission have beenexplored by citizen scienceandsatellite investigations.From altitudes substantially above the normal auroral glow,the deep red SAR emission is thought to be caused by strong heatingdue to currents flowing inplanet Earth's innermagnetosphere.Beyond this SAR, the Milky Way arcs above the cloud banksalong the horizon,a regular visitor to night skies over northern France. Tomorrow's picture: snow 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,NASA ScienceActivation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2023 November 9 - M1: The Crab 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. 2023 November 9 M1: The Crab Nebula Image Credit:NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;Tea Temim (Princeton University) Explanation: The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object onCharles Messier'sfamous 18th century list of things which are not comets.In fact,the Crabis now known to be asupernovaremnant,debris from the death explosion of a massive starwitnessedby astronomers in the year 1054.This sharp image from theJames Webb Space Telescope’sNIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) andMIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument)explores the eerie glow and fragmented strandsof the stillexpanding cloud of interstellar debrisin infrared light.One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers,the Crab Pulsar,a neutron star spinning 30 times a second,is visible as a bright spot nearthe nebula's center.Like a cosmic dynamo,this collapsed remnant of the stellar corepowers the Crab's emission across the electromagnetic spectrum.Spanning about 12 light-years, the Crab Nebula is a mere6,500 light-years away in the head-strongconstellation Taurus. Album: Moon Eclipses Venus: Selected images sent in to APOD Tomorrow's picture: UHZ1<| 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 November 10 UHZ1: Distant Galaxy and Black Hole Image Credit:X-ray:NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán;Infrared:NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI;Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand Explanation: Dominated by dark matter,massive cluster of galaxies Abell 2744 is known to some asPandora's Cluster.It lies 3.5 billion light-years away toward the constellation Sculptor.Using the galaxy cluster's enormous mass as a gravitational lensto warp spacetime and magnify even more distant objectsdirectly behind it, astronomershave found a background galaxy, UHZ1, at aremarkableredshift ofZ=10.1.That puts UHZ1 far beyond Abell 2744,at a distance of 13.2 billion light-years, seen whenour universe was about 3 percent of its current age.UHZ1 is identified inthe insetsof this composited image combining X-rays (purple hues) from the spacebased Chandra X-ray Observatory andinfrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope.The X-ray emission from UHZ1 detected in the Chandra data isthe telltale signature of a growing supermassive black holeat the center of the ultra high redshift galaxy. That makes UHZ1's growing black hole the mostdistant black hole ever detected in X-rays,a result that now hints at how and when the first supermassiveblack holes in...

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 9 M1: The Crab Nebula Image Credit:NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;Tea Temim (Princeton University) Explanation: The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object onCharles Messier'sfamous 18th century list of things which are not comets.In fact,the Crabis now known to be asupernovaremnant,debris from the death explosion of a massive starwitnessedby astronomers in the year 1054.This sharp image from theJames Webb Space Telescope’sNIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) andMIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument)explores the eerie glow and fragmented strandsof the stillexpanding cloud of interstellar debrisin infrared light.One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers,the Crab Pulsar,a neutron star spinning 30 times a second,is visible as a bright spot nearthe nebula's center.Like a cosmic dynamo,this collapsed remnant of the stellar corepowers the Crab's emission across the electromagnetic spectrum.Spanning about 12 light-years, the Crab Nebula is a mere6,500 light-years away in the head-strongconstellation Taurus. Tomorrow's picture: UHZ1<| 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...

APOD: 2023 November 3 - Jupiter by Moonlight 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 3 Jupiter by Moonlight Image Credit &Copyright:Giorgia Hofer Explanation: That bright beacon you've seenrising in theeast just after sunset is Jupiter.Climbing high in midnight skies, our Solar System'sruling gas giantwas at its 2023 opposition,opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky, on November 2.But only a few days earlier, on October 28, the Moon was at its ownopposition.Then both Full Moon and Jupitercould share this telephoto field of view.The celestial scene is composed from two exposures,one long and one short,blended to record bright planetand even brighter Moon during that evening'spartial lunar eclipse.Moonlight shining through the thin,high clouds over northern Italy creates thecolorful iridescenceandlunar corona.Look closely and you'll also spot some of Jupiter'sGalilean moons. Tomorrow's picture: marvelous 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.

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 4 Dinkinesh Moonrise Image Credit:NASA/Goddard,SwRI,Johns Hopkins APL,NOIRLab Explanation: Last Wednesday thevoyaging Lucy spacecraftencounteredits first asteroid,152830Dinkinesh, and discovered the inner-main belt asteroid has a moon.From a distance of just over 400 kilometers, Lucy's Long-RangeReconnaissance Imagercaptured this close-upof the binary system duringa flyby at 4.5 kilometer per second or around 10,000 miles per hour.A marvelous world, Dinkineshitself is small, less than 800 meters (about 0.5 miles) across at its widest.Its satellite is seen from the spacecraft's perspectiveto emerge from behind the primary asteroid.The asteroid moon is estimated to be only about 220 meters wide. Tomorrow's picture: aurora borealis<| 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: 2023 November 2 - The Fornax Cluster of Galaxies 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 2 The Fornax Cluster of Galaxies Image Credit &Copyright:Marcelo Rivera Explanation: Named for the southern constellationtoward which most of its galaxies can be found, theFornaxCluster is one of the closest clusters of galaxies.About 62 million light-years away, it's over 20 times moredistant than our neighboringAndromeda Galaxy, butonly about 10 percent farther along than the better known and morepopulated Virgo Galaxy Cluster.Seen acrossthis three degree widefield-of-view, almost everyyellowish splotch on the image is an elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster.Elliptical galaxiesNGC 1399 and NGC1404are the dominant, bright cluster members toward the bottom center.A standout, large barred spiral galaxy,NGC 1365, is visible on the upper right as a prominent Fornax cluster member. Tomorrow's picture: opposite the Sun<| 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. 2023 November 3 Jupiter by Moonlight Image Credit &Copyright:Giorgia Hofer Explanation: That bright beacon you've seenrising in theeast just after sunset is Jupiter.Climbing high in midnight skies, our Solar System'sruling gas giantwas at its 2023 opposition,opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky, on November 2.But only a few days earlier, on October 28, the Moon was at its ownopposition.Then both Full Moon and Jupitercould share this telephoto field of view.The celestial scene is composed from two exposures,one long and one short,blended to record bright planetand even brighter Moon during that evening'spartial lunar eclipse.Moonlight shining through the thin,high clouds over northern Italy creates thecolorful iridescenceandlunar corona.Look closely and you'll also spot some of Jupiter'sGalilean moons. Tomorrow's picture: Jovian close-up<| 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. 2023 November 2 The Fornax Cluster of Galaxies Image Credit &Copyright:Marcelo Rivera Explanation: Named for the southern constellationtoward which most of its galaxies can be found, theFornaxCluster is one of the closest clusters of galaxies.About 62 million light-years away, it's over 20 times moredistant than our neighboringAndromeda Galaxy, butonly about 10 percent farther along than the better known and morepopulated Virgo Galaxy Cluster.Seen acrossthis three degree widefield-of-view, almost everyyellowish splotch on the image is an elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster.Elliptical galaxiesNGC 1399 and NGC1404are the dominant, bright cluster members toward the bottom center.A standout, large barred spiral galaxy,NGC 1365, is visible on the upper right as a prominent Fornax cluster member. Tomorrow's picture: opposite the Sun<| 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: 2023 October 27 - Encke and the Tadpoles 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 October 27 Encke and the Tadpoles Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: History's second known periodic comet isComet Encke (2P/Encke).As it swings through the innerSolar System, Encke'sorbit takes it from an aphelion, its greatest distance from the Sun,inside the orbit of Jupiter to aperihelion just inside the orbit of Mercury.Returning to its perihelion every 3.3 years, Encke has the shortestperiod of the Solar System'smajor comets.Comet Encke is also associated with(at least)two annual meteor showers onplanet Earth, theNorth and South Taurids.Both showers are active in late October and early November.Their two separate radiants lie near bright star Aldebaran in the head-strongconstellation Taurus.A faint comet, Encke was captured inthis telescopic field of viewimaged on the morning of August 24.Then, Encke's pretty greenish coma was close on the sky to the young, embedded star cluster and light-years long,tadpole-shapedstar-forming clouds in emission nebula IC 410.Now near bright star Spicain Virgo Comet Encke passed its 2023 perihelion only five days ago,on October 22. Tomorrow's picture: mostly a ghostly weekend<| 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. 2023 October 28 The Ghosts of Gamma Cas Image Credit &Copyright:Guillaume Gruntz,Jean-François Bax Explanation: Gamma Cassiopeiaeshines high in northern autumn evening skies.It's the brightest spiky star in this telescopic field of viewtoward the constellation Cassiopeia.Gamma Cas shares the ethereal-looking scenewith ghostly interstellar clouds of gas and dust,IC 59 (top left) and IC 63. About 600 light-years distant,the cloudsaren't actually ghosts.They are slowly disappearing though, eroding under the influence ofenergetic radiationfrom hot and luminous gamma Cas.Gamma Cas isphysically located only 3 to 4 light-years from thenebulae.Slightly closer to gamma Cas, IC 63 is dominated byred H-alpha light emitted ashydrogen atoms ionized by the star's ultraviolet radiation recombinewith electrons.Farther from the star, IC 59 shows proportionally less H-alphaemission but more of the characteristic blue tint of dustreflected star light.The cosmic stage spans over 1 degree or 10 light-years at theestimated distance ofgamma Cas and friends. Tomorrow's picture: ghosts of the Cepheus Flare<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip...

APOD: 2023 October 26 - Orionids in Taurus 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 October 26 Orionids in Taurus Image Credit &Copyright:David Cortner Explanation: History's first known periodic comet,CometHalley (1P/Halley),returns to the inner Solar System every 76 years or so.The famous comet made its last appearance to the naked-eye in 1986.But dusty debris from Comet Halleycan be seen raining through planet Earth's skiestwice a year during two annual meteor showers, theEta Aquarids in Mayand theOrionids in October.In fact,an unhurried seriesof exposures captured these two bright meteors,vaporizing bits of Halley dust,during the early morning hours of October 23against a starry background along the Taurus molecular cloud.Impacting the atmosphere at about 66 kilometers per second theirgreenishstreaks point back to theshower's radiant just northof Orion's bright star Betelgeuse off the lower left side ofthe frame.The familiar Pleiadesstar cluster anchors the dusty celestial scene atthe right. Tomorrow's picture: 2P/Encke<| 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....

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 October 27 Encke and the Tadpoles Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: History's second known periodic comet isComet Encke (2P/Encke).As it swings through the innerSolar System, Encke'sorbit takes it from an aphelion, its greatest distance from the Sun,inside the orbit of Jupiter to aperihelion just inside the orbit of Mercury.Returning to its perihelion every 3.3 years, Encke has the shortestperiod of the Solar System'smajor comets.Comet Encke is also associated with(at least)two annual meteor showers onplanet Earth, theNorth and South Taurids.Both showers are active in late October and early November.Their two separate radiants lie near bright star Aldebaran in the head-strongconstellation Taurus.A faint comet, Encke was captured inthis telescopic field of viewimaged on the morning of August 24.Then, Encke's pretty greenish coma was close on the sky to the young, embedded star cluster and light-years long,tadpole-shapedstar-forming clouds in emission nebula IC 410.Now near bright star Spicain Virgo Comet Encke passed its 2023 perihelion only five days ago,on October 22. Tomorrow's picture: mostly a ghostly weekend<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education|...

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 October 26 Orionids in Taurus Image Credit &Copyright:David Cortner Explanation: History's first known periodic comet,CometHalley (1P/Halley),returns to the inner Solar System every 76 years or so.The famous comet made its last appearance to the naked-eye in 1986.But dusty debris from Comet Halleycan be seen raining through planet Earth's skiestwice a year during two annual meteor showers, theEta Aquarids in Mayand theOrionids in October.In fact,an unhurried seriesof exposures captured these two bright meteors,vaporizing bits of Halley dust,during the early morning hours of October 23against a starry background along the Taurus molecular cloud.Impacting the atmosphere at about 66 kilometers per second theirgreenishstreaks point back to theshower's radiant just northof Orion's bright star Betelgeuse off the lower left side ofthe frame.The familiar Pleiadesstar cluster anchors the dusty celestial scene atthe right. Tomorrow's picture: 2P/Encke<| 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. 2023 October 21 Quarter Moons Image Credit &Copyright:Marcella Giulia Pace Explanation: Half way between New Moon and Full Moon isthe Moon's first quarter phase.That's a quarter of the way around itsmoonthly orbit.At the first quarter phase, halfthe Moon's visible sideis illuminated by sunlight.For the Moon's third quarter phase, half way betweenFull Moon and New Moon, sunlight illuminates the otherhalf of the visible lunar disk.At both first and third quarter phases,the terminator, or shadow line separating the lunar night and day,runs down the middle.Near the terminator,long shadows bring lunar craters andmountains in to sharp relief, making the quarter phases a good timeto observe the Moon.But in case you missed some,all the quarter phases of the Moonand their calendar dates during 2022can be found in this well-planned array of telephoto images.Of course, you can observea first quarter Moon tonight. International:Observe the Moon Night Tomorrow's picture: ghostly northern lights<| 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...