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 July 11 Globular Cluster Omega Centauri Image Credit &Copyright: Juergen Stein Explanation: Globular star clusterOmega Centauripacks about 10 millionstars much older than the Sun into a volume some 150 light-years indiameter.Also known as NGC 5139, at a distance of 15,000 light-yearsit's the largest and brightest of 200 or so knownglobularclusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy.Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age andcomposition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence ofdifferentstellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances.In fact,Omega Cen may be theremnantcore of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way.With a yellowish hue,Omega Centauri's red giant stars are easy to pick out in thissharp telescopic view.A two-decade-long exploration of the dense star clusterwith the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed evidencefor a massive black hole near thecenter of Omega Centauri. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.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 July 10 A Sagittarius Triplet Image Credit &Copyright: Andy Ermolli Explanation: These three bright nebulae are often featured on telescopic tours of theconstellation Sagittariusand the crowded starfields of thecentral Milky Way.In fact, 18th century cosmic touristCharles Messiercataloged two of them; M8,the large nebula above center, and colorfulM20below and left in the frame.The third emission region includesNGC 6559, right of M8 andseparated from the larger nebula by a dark dust lane.All three are stellar nurseries aboutfive thousand light-years or so distant.Over a hundred light-years across the expansive M8is also known as the Lagoon Nebula.M20's popular moniker is the Trifid.Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of theemission nebulae.But for striking contrast, blue hues in theTrifid are due to dust reflected starlight.The broadinterstellar skyscapespans almost 4 degrees or 8 full moons on the sky. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA...

APOD: 2024 July 5 - Mount Etna Milky Way 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 July 5 Mount Etna Milky Way Image Credit &Copyright: Gianni Tumino Explanation: A glow from the summit ofMount Etna,famous active stratovolcano of planet Earth,stands out along the horizon in thismountain and nightskyscape.Bands of diffuse light fromcongeriesof innumerable starsalong the Milky Way galaxy stretch across the sky above.In silhouette, the Milky Way's massive dust clouds are clumped alongthe galactic plane.Also familiar to northern skygazers are brightstars Deneb, Vega, and Altair,the Summer Trianglestraddling dark nebulae andluminous star clouds poised over the volcanic peak.The deep combined exposures reveal the light of activestar formingregions along the Milky Way,echoing Etna'sruddy huein the northern hemispheresummer's night. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility 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. 2024 July 6 NGC 7789: Caroline's Rose Image Credit &Copyright: Massimo Di Fusco Explanation: Found among the rich starfields of the Milky Way,starcluster NGC 7789 lies about 8,000 light-years awaytoward the constellation Cassiopeia.A late 18th century deep sky discovery of astronomerCaroline Lucretia Herschel,the cluster is also known as Caroline's Rose.Itsvisual appearancein small telescopes, created bythe cluster's complex of stars and voids,is suggestive of nested rose petals.Now estimated to be 1.6 billion years young, thegalactic or opencluster of starsalso shows its age.All the stars in the cluster were likely bornat the same time, but the brighter and more massive ones have morerapidly exhausted the hydrogen fuel in theircores.These have evolved frommain sequencestars like the Sun into the many red giant stars shown with a yellowish cast in this color composite.Using measured color and brightness,astronomers can model the mass and hence the age ofthe cluster stars just starting to "turn off" the main sequenceand become red giants.Over 50 light-years across,Caroline's Rose spans abouthalf a degree (the angular size of the Moon) near the center...

APOD: 2024 July 4 - A Beautiful Trifid 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 July 4 A Beautiful Trifid Image Credit &Copyright: Jesús Carmona Guillén Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebulais a cosmicstudyin contrasts.Also known as M20,it lies about5,000 light-years away toward thenebula rich constellation Sagittarius.A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy,the Trifid does illustrate three different types ofastronomical nebulae;red emission nebulae dominated bylight from hydrogen atoms,blue reflection nebulae producedby dust reflecting starlight, anddark nebulae wheredense dust clouds appear in silhouette.But the red emission region, roughly separated into threeparts by obscuring dust lanes, is what lends the Trifid itspopular name.Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, above and right ofthe emission nebula's center, appear in famous Hubble Space Telescopeclose-up imagesof the region.The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across.Too faint to be seen by the unaided eye, it almost covers thearea of a full moon on planet Earth's sky. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.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 July 5 Mount Etna Milky Way Image Credit &Copyright: Gianni Tumino Explanation: A glow from the summit ofMount Etna,famous active stratovolcano of planet Earth,stands out along the horizon in thismountain and nightskyscape.Bands of diffuse light fromcongeriesof innumerable starsalong the Milky Way galaxy stretch across the sky above.In silhouette, the Milky Way's massive dust clouds are clumped alongthe galactic plane.But also familiar to northern skygazers are brightstars Deneb, Vega, and Altair,the Summer Trianglestraddling dark nebulae andluminous star clouds poised over the volcanic peak.The deep combined exposures also reveal the light of activestar formingregions along the Milky Way,echoing Etna'sruddy huein the northern hemispheresummer's night. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2024 July 3 - M83: Star Streams and a Thousand Rubies 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 July 3 M83: Star Streams and a Thousand Rubies Image Credit &Copyright: Michael Sidonio Explanation: Big, bright, and beautiful,spiral galaxy M83lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeasterntip of the very longconstellation Hydra.About 40,000 light-years across, M83 isknown as the Southern Pinwheel for its pronounced spiral arms.But the wealth ofreddish star forming regionsfound near the edges of the arms' thick dust lanes,also suggest another popular moniker for M83, theThousand-Ruby Galaxy.This new deep telescopicdigital imagealso records the bright galaxy's faint, extended halo.Arcing toward the bottom of the cosmic frame lies a stellar tidal stream,debris drawn from massive M83 bythe gravitational disruption of a smaller, merging satellite galaxy.Astronomers David Malin and Brian Hadleyfound the elusivestar stream in the mid 1990s by enhancing photographic plates. Tomorrow's picture: red, white, blue <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation&...

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 July 4 A Beautiful Trifid Image Credit &Copyright: Jesús Carmona Guillén Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebulais a cosmicstudyin contrasts.Also known as M20,it lies about5,000 light-years away toward thenebula rich constellation Sagittarius.A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy,the Trifid does illustrate three different types ofastronomical nebulae;red emission nebulae dominated bylight from hydrogen atoms,blue reflection nebulae producedby dust reflecting starlight, anddark nebulae wheredense dust clouds appear in silhouette.But the red emission region, roughly separated into threeparts by obscuring dust lanes, is what lends the Trifid itspopular name.Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, above and right ofthe emission nebula's center, appear in famous Hubble Space Telescopeclose-up imagesof the region.The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across.Too faint to be seen by the unaided eye, it almost covers thearea of a full moon on planet Earth's sky. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA...

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 July 3 M83: Star Streams and a Thousand Rubies Image Credit &Copyright: Michael Sidonio Explanation: Big, bright, and beautiful,spiral galaxy M83lies a mere twelve million light-years away, near the southeasterntip of the very longconstellation Hydra.About 40,000 light-years across, M83 isknown as the Southern Pinwheel for its pronounced spiral arms.But the wealth ofreddish star forming regionsfound near the edges of the arms' thick dust lanes,also suggest another popular moniker for M83, theThousand-Ruby Galaxy.This new deep telescopicdigital imagealso records the bright galaxy's faint, extended halo.Arcing toward the bottom of the cosmic frame lies a stellar tidal stream,debris drawn from massive M83 bythe gravitational disruption of a smaller, merging satellite galaxy.Astronomers David Malin and Brian Hadleyfound the elusivestar stream in the mid 1990s by enhancing photographic plates. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2024 June 28 - Comet 13P Olbers 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 June 28 Comet 13P/Olbers Image Credit &Copyright: Dan Bartlett` Explanation: Nota paradox,Comet 13P/Olbers isreturning to the innerSolar Systemafter 68 years.The periodic,Halley-typecomet will reach its nextperihelion or closest approach to the Sun on June 30and has become a target for binocular viewing low inplanetEarth's northern hemispherenight skies.But this sharp telescopic image of 13P iscomposed ofstacked exposures made on the night of June 25.It easily reveals shifting details in the bright comet'storn and tattered ion tailbuffeted by the wind froman active Sun, along with abroad, fanned-outdust tail and slightly greenish coma.The frame spans over two degreesacross a background of faint starstoward the constellation Lynx. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility 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. 2024 June 29 A Solstice Moon Image Credit &Copyright: Tunc Tezel(TWAN) Explanation: Rising opposite the setting Sun,June's Full Moonoccurred within about 28 hours of the solstice.The Moon stays close to the Sun's path along the ecliptic planeand so while the solstice Sun climbedhigh in daytime skies, June'sFull Moon remained low that nightas seen from northern latitudes.In fact, the Full Moon hugs the horizon in this June 21 rooftop night skyview from Bursa, Turkey, constructed from exposures made every 10 minutesbetween moonrise and moonset.In 2024 the Moon also reached amajor lunar standstill,an extreme in themonthly north-southrange of moonrise and moonsetcaused by the precession of the Moon's orbit over an18.6 year cycle.As a result, this Junesolstice Full Moon was at its southernmost moonrise and moonsetalong the horizon. Tomorrow's picture: Earthrise <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2024 June 27 - Protostellar Outflows in Serpens 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 June 27 Protostellar Outflows in Serpens Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL),Joel Green (STScI) Explanation: Jets of material blastingfrom newborn stars, are captured in this James Webb Space Telescopeclose-up of the Serpens Nebula.The powerful protostellar outflows are bipolar, twin jets spewingin opposite directions.Their directions are perpendicular to accretion disksformed around thespinning, collapsingstellar infants.In the NIRcam image,the reddish color represents emission from molecular hydrogen andcarbon monoxide produced as the jets collide with the surroundinggas and dust.The sharp imageshows for the first time that individualoutflows detected in the Serpens Nebula aregenerally aligned along the same direction.That result was expected, but has only now come into clear viewwith Webb'sdetailed explorationof the active young star-forming region.Brighter foreground stars exhibit Webb's characteristicdiffraction spikes.At the Serpens Nebula's estimated distance of 1,300 light-years, thiscosmic close-up frame is about 1 light-year across. Tomorrow's picture: Olber's comet <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility 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 June 28 Comet 13P/Olbers Image Credit &Copyright: Dan Bartlett` Explanation: Nota paradox,Comet 13P/Olbers isreturning to the innerSolar Systemafter 68 years.The periodic,Halley-typecomet will reach its nextperihelion or closest approach to the Sun on June 30and has become a target for binocular viewing low inplanetEarth's northern hemispherenight skies.But this sharp telescopic image of 13P iscomposed ofstacked exposures made on the night of June 25.It easily reveals shifting details in the bright comet'storn and tattered ion tailbuffeted by the wind froman active Sun, along with abroad, fanned-outdust tail and slightly greenish coma.The frame spans over two degreesacross a background of faint starstoward the constellation Lynx. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility 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. 2024 June 27 Protostellar Outflows in Serpens Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL),Joel Green (STScI) Explanation: Jets of material blastingfrom newborn stars, are captured in this James Webb Space Telescopeclose-up of the Serpens Nebula.The powerful protostellar outflows are bipolar, twin jets spewingin opposite directions.Their directions are perpendicular to accretion disksformed around thespinning, collapsingstellar infants.In the NIRcam image,the reddish color represents emission from molecular hydrogen andcarbon monoxide produced as the jets collide with the surroundinggas and dust.The sharp imageshows for the first time that individualoutflows detected in the Serpens Nebula aregenerally aligned along the same direction.That result was expected, but has only now come into clear viewwith Webb'sdetailed explorationof the active young star-forming region.Brighter foreground stars exhibit Webb's characteristicdiffraction spikes.At the Serpens Nebula's estimated distance of 1,300 light-years, thiscosmic close-up frame is about 1 light-year across. Tomorrow's picture: Olber's comet <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science...

APOD: 2024 June 21 - Hubble's NGC 1546 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 June 21 Hubble's NGC 1546 Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, David Thilker (JHU) Explanation: Returning to science operationson June 14,the Hubble Space Telescope used its newpointing modeto capture this sharp image ofspiral galaxy NGC 1546.A member of theDorado galaxy group, the island universe liesa mere 50 million light-years away.The galactic disk of NGC 1546 is tilted to our line-of-sight,with the yellowish light of the old stars andbluish regions of newly formed stars shining through thegalaxy's dust lanes.More distant background galaxies are scattered throughoutthis Hubble view.Launched in 1990, Hubble has beenexploring the cosmosfor more thanthree decades, recently celebrating its 34th anniversary. 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: Amber StraughnSpecific rights apply.NASA Web Privacy,Accessibility NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.