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 29 Shakespeare in Space Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI Explanation: In 1986, Voyager 2 became the only spacecraftto exploreice giant planet Uranusclose up.Still, this newly released imagefrom the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera)on the James Webb Space Telescope offers adetailed look at the distant world.The tilted outer planet rotates on its axis once in about 17 hours.Its north pole is presently pointed near our line of sight,offering direct views of its northern hemisphere and afaint but extensive system of rings.Of the giant planet's 27 known moons, 14 areannotated in the image.The brighter ones show hints of Webb's characteristicdiffraction spikes.And though these worlds of the outer Solar Systemwere unknown inShakespearean times,all but two of the 27 Uranian moons arenamedfor characters in the English Bard's plays. Tomorrow's picture: the cold and tired 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 and Important NoticesA service of:ASD atNASA /GSFC,NASA Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2023 December 28 - Jupiter and the Geminid 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 28 Jupiter and the Geminid Image Credit &Copyright:Gaurav Singh Explanation: For a brief moment,this brilliant fireball meteor outshoneJupiter in planet Earth's night.The serendipitous image was captured while hunting meteors undercold Canadian skies with a camera intimelapse mode on December 14,near the peak of theGeminid meteor shower.The Geminid meteor shower,asteroid 3200 Phaethon's annual gift,always arrives in December.Dust shed along the orbit of the mysterious asteroidcauses the meteor streaks, as the vaporizing grainsplow through our fair planet's upper atmosphereat 22 kilometers per second.Of course Geminid shower meteorsappear to radiatefrom a point in the constellation of the Twins.That's below and left of this frame.With bright Jupiter on the right, also in theDecember nightskyview are thePleiades andHyadesstar clusters. Tomorrow's picture: Shakespeare 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 /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 28 Jupiter and the Geminid Image Credit &Copyright:Gaurav Singh Explanation: For a brief moment,this brilliant fireball meteor outshoneJupiter in planet Earth's night.The serendipitous image was captured while hunting meteors undercold Canadian skies with a camera intimelapse mode on December 14,near the peak of theGeminid meteor shower.The Geminid meteor shower,asteroid 3200 Phaethon's annual gift,always arrives in December.Dust shed along the orbit of the mysterious asteroidcauses the meteor streaks, as the vaporizing grainsplow through our fair planet's upper atmosphereat 22 kilometers per second.Of course Geminid shower meteorsappear to radiatefrom a point in the constellation of the Twins.That's below and left of this frame.With bright Jupiter on the right, also in theDecember nightskyview are thePleiades andHyadesstar clusters. Tomorrow's picture: Shakespeare 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 /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 23 A December Summer Night Image Credit &Copyright:Ian Griffin(Otago Museum) Explanation: Colours of a serene evening sky are captured in this8 minute exposure, made nearthis December's solsticefrom New Zealand, southern hemisphere,planet Earth.Looking south, star trails form the short concentric arcs aroundthe rotating planet's south celestial polepositioned just off the top of the frame.At top and left of center are trails of the Southern Cross starsand a dark smudge from theMilky Way's Coalsack Nebula.Alpha and BetaCentauri make the brighter yellow and blue tinted trails,reflected below in the waters of Hoopers Inlet in the Pacific coast of the South Island'sOtago Peninsula.On that short December summer night,aurora australis alsogave luminous, green and reddish hues to the sky above the hills.An upper atmospheric glowdistinct from the auroraexcited by collisions with energetic particles,pale greenish bands of airglow caused bya cascade of chemical reactionsexcited by sunlightcan be traced in diagonal bands near the top left. Tomorrow's picture: a cosmic cocoon <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors:...
APOD: 2023 December 22 - 183 Days in the Sun 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 22 183 Days in the Sun Image Credit &Copyright:José Zarcos Palma Explanation: A single 183 day exposure with a pinhole camera and photographic paperresulted in this long-durationsolargraph.Recorded fromsolstice to solstice,June 21 to December 21, in 2022,it follows the Sun's daily arcing paththrough planet Earth's skies from Mertola, Portugal.On June 21,the Sun's highest point and longest arc represents the longestday and the astronomical beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere.The solstice date with the fewest hours of daylight is atthe beginning of winter in the north,corresponding to the Sun's shortest and lowest arc in the 2022 solargraph.For 2023, the northern winter solstice was on December 22 at 3:27 UTC.That's December 21for North America time zones. 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 22 183 Days in the Sun Image Credit &Copyright:José Zarcos Palma Explanation: A single 183 day exposure with a pinhole camera and photographic paperresulted in this long-durationsolargraph.Recorded fromsolstice to solstice,June 21 to December 21, in 2022,it follows the Sun's daily arcing paththrough planet Earth's skies from Mertola, Portugal.On June 21,the Sun's highest point and longest arc represents the longestday and the astronomical beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere.The solstice date with the fewest hours of daylight is atthe beginning of winter in the north,corresponding to the Sun's shortest and lowest arc in the 2022 solargraph.For 2023, the northern winter solstice was on December 22 at 3:27 UTC.That's December 21for North America time zones. 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 December 21 - Three Galaxies and a Comet 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 21 Three Galaxies and a Comet Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: Distant galaxies abound in thisone degree wide field of view towardthe southern constellation Grus (The Crane).But the three spiral galaxies at the lower right are quite striking.In fact, all three galaxies are grouped about 70 million light years awayand sometimes known asthe Grus Triplet.They share the pretty telescopic frame, recorded on December 13,with thecometdesignatedC/2020 V2 ZTF.Now outbound from the inner Solar System and swinging belowthe ecliptic plane in ahyperbolicorbit, the comet was about 29 light-minutes from our fair planet in this image.And though comet ZTF was brighter when it wasclosest to the Sun last May and closest to Earth in September of 2023,it still shines in telescopes pointed toward southern night skies,remaining almost as bright as the Grus Triplet galaxies. Tomorrow's picture: solstice solargraphy <| 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...
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 21 Three Galaxies and a Comet Image Credit &Copyright:Dan Bartlett Explanation: Distant galaxies abound in thisone degree wide field of view towardthe southern constellation Grus (The Crane).But the three spiral galaxies at the lower right are quite striking.In fact, all three galaxies are grouped about 70 million light years awayand sometimes known asthe Grus Triplet.They share the pretty telescopic frame, recorded on December 13,with thecometdesignatedC/2020 V2 ZTF.Now outbound from the inner Solar System and swinging belowthe ecliptic plane in ahyperbolicorbit, the comet was about 29 light-minutes from our fair planet in this image.And though comet ZTF was brighter when it wasclosest to the Sun last May and closest to Earth in September of 2023,it still shines in telescopes pointed toward southern night skies,remaining almost as bright as the Grus Triplet galaxies. Tomorrow's picture: solstice solargraphy <| 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: 2023 December 15 - Betelgeuse Eclipsed 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 centerline of the narrow shadow path starting in central Mexico and extending eastwardacross southern Florida, the Atlantic Ocean, southern Europe, and Eurasia.The geocentric celestial event was 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 16 Crescent Enceladus Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA,NASA Explanation: Peering from the shadows, theSaturn-facing hemisphere oftantalizing inner moon Enceladusposes in this Cassini spacecraft image.North is up inthedramatic scene captured during November 2016 asCassini's camera was pointed in a nearly sunward directionabout 130,000 kilometers from the moon's bright crescent.In fact, the distant world reflects over 90 percent of the sunlightit receives, giving its surface about the same reflectivity asfresh snow.A mere 500 kilometers in diameter,Enceladus is a surprisinglyactive moon.Data and images collected during Cassini's flybys have revealedwater vapor and ice grains spewingfrom south polar geysers and evidence of anocean of liquid water hidden beneaththe moon's icy crust. Tomorrow's picture: the same color <| 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 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...