APOD: 2022 May 12 - Young Stars of NGC 346 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. 2022 May 12 Young Stars of NGC 346 Image Credit: NASA,ESA- acknowledgement:Antonella Nota (ESA/STScI)et al., Explanation: The massive stars of NGC 346are short lived, but veryenergetic.The star cluster is embedded inthe largest star forming region in theSmall Magellanic Cloud,some 210,000 light-years distant.Their winds and radiation sweep out an interstellarcavern in the gas and dust cloud about 200 light-years across,triggering star formation and sculptingthe region's dense inner edge.Cataloged as N66, the star forming region also appears tocontain a large population of infant stars.A mere 3 to 5 million years old and not yetburning hydrogenin their cores, theinfant starsare strewn about the embedded star cluster.In this false-colorHubble Space Telescope image,visible and near-infrared light are seen as blue and green,while light from atomic hydrogen emission is red. 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 /GSFC& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2022 May 11 - Gravity s Grin 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. 2022 May 11 Gravity's Grin Image Credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC /J. Irwin et al. ;Optical - NASA/STScI Explanation: AlbertEinstein'sgeneral theory of relativity, published over 100 yearsago, predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing.And that's what gives these distant galaxies such a whimsicalappearance,seenthrough the looking glass of X-ray and opticalimage data from the Chandra and Hubble space telescopes.Nicknamed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, the group's twolarge elliptical galaxies are suggestively framed by arcs.The arcs are optical imagesof distant background galaxieslensed by the foreground group's total distributionof gravitational mass.Of course, that gravitational mass is dominatedby dark matter.The two large elliptical "eye" galaxies representthe brightest members of their own galaxy groups which are merging.Their relative collisional speed of nearly 1,350 kilometers/secondheats gas to millions of degrees producing the X-ray glow shownin purple hues.Curiouser aboutgalaxy group mergers?The Cheshire Catgroupgrinsin the constellation Ursa Major, some 4.6 billion light-years away. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...
APOD: 2022 May 10 - NGC 6334: The Cats Paw 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. 2022 May 10 NGC 6334: The Cat's Paw Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Steve Bemmerl & Team Wolfatorium (Hakos/Namibia) Explanation: Nebulas are perhaps as famous for being identified with familiar shapes as perhaps cats are for getting into trouble. Still, no known cat could have created the vast Cat's Paw Nebulavisible toward the constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius. At 5,500 light years distant, Cat's Paw is an emission nebula with a red color that originates from an abundance of ionized hydrogen atoms. Alternatively known as the Bear Claw Nebula and cataloged as NGC 6334, stars nearly ten times the mass of our Sun have been born there in only the past few million years.Pictured here is a deep field image of the Cat's Paw Nebula in light emitted by hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: more cats in space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...
APOD: 2022 May 9 - A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses 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. A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun Video Credit: NASA,JPL-Caltech,ASUMSSS,SSI Explanation: What's that passing in front of the Sun?It looks like a moon, but it can't be Earth's Moon, because it isn't round.It's the Martian moon Phobos. The featured video was taken from the surface of Mars a month ago by the Perseverance rover.Phobos, at 11.5 kilometers across, is 150 times smaller than Luna (our moon) in diameter, but also 50 times closer to its parent planet. In fact, Phobos is so close to Mars that it is expected to break up and crash into Mars within the next 50 million years. In the near term, the low orbit of Phobos results in more rapid solar eclipses than seen from Earth.The featured video is shown in real time -- the transit really took about 40 seconds,as shown.The videographer -- the robotic rover Perseverance (Percy) -- continues to explore Jezero Crater on Mars,searching not only for clues to the watery history of the now dry world,but...
APOD: 2022 May 8 - Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: The Inner Rings 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. 2022 May 8 Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: The Inner Rings Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope Explanation: Most galaxies don't have any rings -- why does this galaxy have two? To begin, the bright band near NGC 1512's center is a nuclear ring, a ring that surrounds the galaxy center and glows brightly with recently formed stars.Most stars and accompanying gas and dust, however, orbit the galactic center in a ring much further out -- here seen near the image edge.This ring is called, counter-intuitively, the inner ring. If you look closely, you will see this the inner ring connects ends of a diffuse central bar that runs horizontally across the galaxy.These ring structures are thought to be caused by NGC 1512's own asymmetries in a drawn-out process called secular evolution. The gravity of these galaxy asymmetries, including the bar of stars, cause gas and dust to fall from the inner ring to the nuclear ring, enhancing this ring's rate of star formation. Some...
APOD: 2022 May 7 - Firefall 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. 2022 May 7 Firefall by Moonlight Image Credit &Copyright:Tara Mostofi Explanation: On certain dates in February, anelusive firefall can be spotted at sunset inYosemite National Park,when water flows, the weather cooperatesand the direction to the setting Sun is just right.Often photographed from vantage points below, at the right moment the park'sseasonal Horsetail Fallis isolated in the shadows of thesteep walls of El Capitan.Then, still illuminated with rays of reddened sunlightthe waterfall briefly takes on a dramatic, fiery appearance.But aHorsetail firefallcan be photographed by moonlight too.Even more elusive by moonlight, the firefall effect can also be seenwhen a bright Moon sets at the right direction along the western horizon.And skies were clear enough for this well-planned imaging of an ephemeral Horsetail firefall,lit by a bright gibbous Moon setting in the early morning hours of April 15. Tomorrow's picture: the inner rings<| 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...
APOD: 2022 May 6 - NGC 3572 and the Southern 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. 2022 May 6 NGC 3572 and the Southern Tadpoles Image Credit &Copyright:Carlos Taylor Explanation: This cosmic skyscapefeatures glowing gas and dark dust cloudsalong side the young stars of NGC 3572.A beautiful emission nebula and star cluster it sailsfar southern skieswithin the nautical constellation Carina.Stars from NGC 3572 are toward top center in the telescopicframe that would measure about 100 light-years across at the cluster'sestimated distance of 9,000 light-years.The visible interstellar gas and dust is part of the star cluster'snatal molecular cloud.Dense streamers of materialwithin the nebula, eroded by stellar winds and radiation,clearly trail away from the energetic young stars.They are likely sites of ongoing star formation with shapesreminiscent of theTadpoles of IC 410better known to northern skygazers. In the coming tens to hundreds of millions of years, gas and stars inthe cluster will be dispersed though, by gravitational tides and byviolentsupernova explosionsthat end the short lives of the massive cluster stars. Tomorrow's picture: firefall by moonlight<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD|...
APOD: 2022 May 5 - NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble 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. 2022 May 5 NGC 3521: Galaxy in a Bubble Image Credit &Copyright:Mark HansonandMike Selby Explanation: Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521is a mere 35 million light-years away,toward the northernspringtime constellation Leo.Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 iseasily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked byamateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies,like M66 and M65.It's hard to overlook inthis colorfulcosmic portrait though.Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sportscharacteristicpatchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink star forming regions,andclusters of young, blue stars.This deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in fainter,gigantic, bubble-like shells.The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars tornfrom satellite galaxies that haveundergone mergerswith NGC 3521 in the distant past. Tomorrow's picture: southern tadpoles<| 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& Michigan Tech. U.
APOD: 2022 May 4 - Planets Over Egyptian Pyramid 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. 2022 May 4 Planets Over Egyptian Pyramid Image Credit & Copyright: Osama Fatehi Explanation: The early morning planet parade continues.Visible the world over, the planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn have been lining up in the pre-dawn sky since mid-April.In the featured image taken last month, these planets were captured over the Step Pyramid of Djoser, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Located in the Saqqara necropolis of Egypt, the pyramid was constructed in the 27th century BC and is one of the oldest pyramids known. The two-image composite includes a foreground image taken during evening blue hour, and a background image captured from the same location the following morning. The morning planet line-up is slowly changing. At the end of last month, planets Jupiter and Venus switched places, while at the end of this month, Jupiter and Mars will switch after passing within one-degree of each other.Of course, this picturesque planetary angular alignment is a coincidence, as all of these worlds continue to orbit the Sun as they have...
APOD: 2022 May 3 - Mercurys Sodium Tail 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. 2022 May 3 Mercury's Sodium Tail Image Credit & Copyright: Sebastian Voltmer Explanation: That's no comet. Below the Pleiades star cluster is actually a planet: Mercury.Long exposures of our Solar System's innermost planet may reveal something unexpected: a tail.Mercury's thin atmosphere contains small amounts of sodium that glow when excited by light from the Sun.Sunlight also liberates these atoms from Mercury's surface and pushes them away.The yellow glow from sodium, in particular, is relatively bright. Pictured, Mercury and its sodium tail are visible in a deep image taken last week from La Palma, Spainthrough a filter that primarily transmits yellow light emitted by sodium.First predicted in the 1980s, Mercury's tail was first discovered in 2001.Many tail details were revealed in multiple observations by NASA's robotic MESSENGER spacecraft that orbited Mercury between 2011 and 2015. Tails, of course, are usually associated with comets. Tomorrow's picture: planet pyramid parade <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official:...
APOD: 2022 May 2 - Partial Solar Eclipse over Argentina 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. 2022 May 2 Partial Solar Eclipse over Argentina Image Credit & Copyright: Aixa Andrada Explanation: What's happened to the Sun?Two days ago, parts of South America were treated to a partial solar eclipse -- where the Moon blocked out part of the Sun. The featured image shows an image of the partially eclipsed Sun through clouds as it was setting over Patagonia, Argentina.In the tilted image, Earth is toward the right.During the eclipse, the Moon moved partly between Earth and the Sun.Although a visually impressive sight, the slight dimming of surroundings during this partial eclipse was less noticeable than dimming created by a thick cloud.In about two weeks, all of South America and part of North America will experience a total lunar eclipse -- where the Earth moves completely between the Moon and the Sun. In about two years, a total solar eclipse will cross North America. Tomorrow's picture: planet tail <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors:...
APOD: 2022 May 1 - First Horizon Scale Image of a Black Hole 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. 2022 May 1 First Horizon-Scale Image of a Black Hole Image Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration Explanation: What does a black hole look like?To find out, radio telescopes from around the Earth coordinated observations of black holes with the largest known event horizons on the sky. Alone, black holes are just black, but these monster attractors are known to be surrounded by glowing gas. This first image resolves the area around the black hole at the center of galaxy M87 on a scale below that expected for its event horizon. Pictured, the dark central region is not the event horizon, but rather the black hole's shadow -- the central region of emitting gas darkened by the central black hole's gravity.The size and shape of the shadow is determined by bright gas near the event horizon, by strong gravitational lensing deflections, and by the black hole's spin. In resolving this black hole's shadow, the Event Horizon Telescope(EHT) bolstered evidence that Einstein's gravity works even in...
APOD: 2022 April 30 - M44: The Beehive Cluster 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. 2022 April 30 M44: The Beehive Cluster Image Credit &Copyright:Drew Evans Explanation: A mere 600 light-years away,M44 is one of the closeststar clusters to our solar system.Also known as thePraesepeor the Beehive cluster its starsare young though, about 600 million years old compared to our Sun's4.5 billionyears.Based on similar ages and motion through space, M44 and theeven closer Hyades star cluster in Taurusare thought to havebeen born together in the same large molecular cloud.An open clusterspanning some 15 light-years, M44 holds 1,000 stars or soand covers about 3 full moons (1.5 degrees) on thesky in the constellation Cancer.Visible to the unaided eye, M44 has been recognized since antiquity.Described as a faint cloud or celestial mist long beforebeing included as the 44th entry inCharles Messier's18th century catalog, the cluster was not resolved into its individualstars until telescopes were available.A popular target for modern, binocular-equipped sky gazers,the cluster's fewyellowish tinted, cool,red giants are scatteredthrough the field of its brighter hot blue main sequencestars in thistelescopic group snapshot.Dramaticdiffraction spikeshighlighting the brighter...
APOD: 2022 April 29 - Portrait of NGC 3628 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. 2022 April 29 Portrait of NGC 3628 Image Credit &Copyright:Wilhelm Michael Kasakow,Olaf Guillaume Explanation: Sharp telescopic views ofNGC 3628show a puffy galactic disk divided by dark dust lanes.Of course,this portraitof the magnificent, edge-on spiral galaxy puts some astronomersin mind of its popular moniker,the Hamburger Galaxy.It also reveals a small galaxy nearby (below), likely a satellite ofNGC 3628, and a very faint but extensivetidal tail.The drawn out tail stretches for about 300,000light-years, even beyond the upper left edge of the frame.NGC 3628 shares its neighborhood in thelocal universe with two other large spiralsM65 andM66 in a groupingotherwise known as the Leo Triplet.Gravitational interactions with itscosmic neighborsare likely responsible for creating the tidal tail,as well as the extended flare and warp of this spiral's disk.The tantalizingisland universeitself is about 100,000 light-years across and 35 million light-yearsaway in the northern springtime constellation Leo. Tomorrow's picture: diffraction attraction<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights...
APOD: 2022 April 28 - Lyrid of the Lake 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. 2022 April 28 Lyrid of the Lake Image Credit &Copyright:Jeff Dai(TWAN) Explanation: In the early hours of April 24 this brightLyrid meteorflashed along the central Milky Way.For a moment, it cast a bright reflection acrossLake Nian, Yunnan province, China.Theannual Lyrid meteor shower,one of the oldest known,is active in late April, as our fair planet plowsthrough dust left along the orbit of long-period comet Thatcher.The trail of the brightfireball points back towardthe shower's radiant in theconstellation Lyra high in the northern springtime sky and off the topof the frame.Just rising in that starry sky, light from a third quarter moonalso cast a glow on the peaceful waters of the lake. Tomorrow's picture: a springtime appetizer<| 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& Michigan Tech. U.