APOD: 2023 December 1 - Milky Way Rising 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 1 Milky Way Rising Image Credit &Copyright: José Rodrigues Explanation: The core of the Milky Wayis rising beyond the Chilean mountain-topLa SillaObservatory in thisdeep night skyscape.Seen toward the constellation Sagittarius, our home galaxy's centeris flanked on the left, by the European Southern Observatory's NewTechnology Telescope which pioneered the use of active optics toaccurately control the shape of large telescope mirrors.To the right stands the ESO 3.6-meter Telescope,home of the exoplanet huntingHARPSandNIRPSspectrographs.Between them, thegalaxy's central bulgeis filled with obscuringclouds of interstellar dust, bright stars,clusters, and nebulae.Prominent reddish hydrogen emission from the star-formingLagoon Nebula, M8, is near center.The Trifid Nebula, M20, combines blue light of a dusty reflection nebulawith reddish emission just left of the cosmic Lagoon.Both are popularstops on telescopic tours of the galactic center.The composited imageis a stack of separate exposures for groundand sky made in April 2023, all captured consecutivelywith the same framing and camera equipment. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend <| 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 December 2 Startrails over Beijing Ancient Observatory Image Credit &Copyright:Jeff Dai(TWAN) Explanation: You can takea subway ride to visit thisobservatory in Beijing, Chinabut you won't find any telescopes there.Starting in the 1400s astronomers erected devices at theBeijing Ancient Observatorysite to enable them to accurately measure and track the positions ofnaked-eye stars and planets.Some of the large, ornateastronomical instrumentsare still standing.You can even see stars from the star observation platform today,but now only the very brightestcelestial beacons are visibleagainst the city lights.In this time series of exposures from a camera fixed to a tripodto record graceful arcing startrails,the brightest trail is actually the Moon.Its broad arc is seen behind the ancient observatory's brassarmillary sphere.Compare this picturefrom the Beijing Ancient Observatory taken in September 2023 toone taken in 1895. Tomorrow's picture: moonset <| 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 November 30 - Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 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 30 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis I Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28, 2022) of the Artemis I mission, theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from its home world.Over 430,000 kilometers from Earthin a distant retrograde orbit,Orion surpassed the record for most distantspacecraft designed to carry humans.That record was previously set in 1970 during theApollo 13 mission to the Moon.Both Earth and Moon are in thesame fieldof viewin this video frame from Orion on Artemis I mission flight day 13.The planet and its large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective. Tomorrow's picture: galaxy rise <| 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 1 Milky Way Rising Image Credit &Copyright: José Rodrigues Explanation: The core of the Milky Wayis rising beyond the Chilean mountain-topLa SillaObservatory in thisdeep night skyscape.Seen toward the constellation Sagittarius, our home galaxy's centeris flanked on the left, by the European Southern Observatory's NewTechnology Telescope which pioneered the use of active optics toaccurately control the shape of large telescope mirrors.To the right stands the ESO 3.6-meter Telescope,home of the exoplanet huntingHARPSandNIRPSspectrographs.Between them, thegalaxy's central bulgeis filled with obscuringclouds of interstellar dust, bright stars,clusters, and nebulae.Prominent reddish hydrogen emission from the star-formingLagoon Nebula, M8, is near center.The Trifid Nebula, M20, combines blue light of a dusty reflection nebulawith reddish emission just left of the cosmic Lagoon.Both are popularstops on telescopic tours of the galactic center.The composited imageis a stack of separate exposures for groundand sky made in April 2023, all captured consecutivelywith the same framing and camera equipment. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell...

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 30 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis I Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28, 2022) of the Artemis I mission, theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from its home world.Over 430,000 kilometers from Earthin a distant retrograde orbit,Orion surpassed the record for most distantspacecraft designed to carry humans.That record was previously set in 1970 during theApollo 13 mission to the Moon.Both Earth and Moon are in thesame fieldof viewin this video frame from Orion on Artemis I mission flight day 13.The planet and its large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective. Tomorrow's picture: galaxy rise <| 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 November 24 - Stereo Jupiter near Opposition 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 24 Stereo Jupiter near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright: Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Jupiter looks sharp in these tworooftop telescope images.Both were captured on November 17 from Singapore, planet Earth,about two weeks afterJupiter's 2023 opposition.Climbing high in midnight skies the giant planetwas a mere 33.4 light-minutes from Singapore.That's about 4 astronomical units away.Jupiter's planet girdlingdark belts and light zonesare visible in remarkable detail, along with the giant world'swhitish oval vortices.Its signatureGreat Red Spot is still prominent in the south.Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis once every 10 hours.So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes apart,these images form a stereo pair.Look at the center of the pair and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see theSolar System's ruling gas giantin 3D. 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.

Immersed in an eerie greenish light, this rugged

APOD: 2023 November 23 - Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud 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 23 Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud Image Credit &Copyright: Yuexiao Shen,Joe Hua Explanation: The cosmic brush of star formation composedthis interstellar canvasof emission, dust, and dark nebulae.A 5 degree wide telescopic mosaic, it frames a regionfound north of bright star Aldebaran on the sky,at an inner wall ofthe local bubblealong the Taurus molecular cloud.At lower left, emission cataloged asSh2-239shows signs of embedded young stellar objects.The region's Herbig-Haro objects,nebulosities associatedwith newly born stars,are marked bytell-tale reddish jets of shocked hydrogen gas.Above and right T Tauri,the prototype of the class ofT Tauri variable stars,is next to a yellowish nebula historically known as Hind's VariableNebula (NGC 1555).T Tauri stars are now generally recognized as young,less than a few million years old,sun-like stars still in the earlystages of formation. Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Jupiter <| 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...

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 24 Stereo Jupiter near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright: Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Jupiter looks sharp in these tworooftop telescope images.Both were captured on November 17 from Singapore, planet Earth,about two weeks afterJupiter's 2023 opposition.Climbing high in midnight skies the giant planetwas a mere 33.4 light-minutes from Singapore.That's about 4 astronomical units away.Jupiter's planet girdlingdark belts and light zonesare visible in remarkable detail, along with the giant world'swhitish oval vortices.Its signatureGreat Red Spot is still prominent in the south.Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis once every 10 hours.So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes apart,these images form a stereo pair.Look at the center of the pair and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see theSolar System's ruling gas giantin 3D. 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 November 22 - IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis 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 22 IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit &Copyright: Steve Cannistra Explanation: Similarin size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood,IC 342is a mere 10 million light-yearsdistantin the long-necked, northern constellationCamelopardalis.A sprawling island universe,IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky,but it is hidden from clear view and onlyglimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust cloudsalong the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy.Even though IC 342's light is dimmed and reddened by interveningcosmic clouds,thissharp telescopic imagetraces the galaxy's own obscuring dust, young star clusters, andglowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far fromthe galaxy's core.IC 342 has undergone a recent burst ofstar formationactivity and is close enough to have gravitationally influencedthe evolution of thelocal groupof galaxies and the Milky Way. 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...

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 23 Along the Taurus Molecular Cloud Image Credit &Copyright: Yuexiao Shen,Joe Hua Explanation: The cosmic brush of star formation composedthis interstellar canvasof emission, dust, and dark nebulae.A 5 degree wide telescopic mosaic, it frames a regionfound north of bright star Aldebaran on the sky,at an inner wall ofthe local bubblealong the Taurus molecular cloud.At lower left, emission cataloged asSh2-239shows signs of embedded young stellar objects.The region's Herbig-Haro objects,nebulosities associatedwith newly born stars,are marked bytell-tale reddish jets of shocked hydrogen gas.Above and right T Tauri,the prototype of the class ofT Tauri variable stars,is next to a yellowish nebula historically known as Hind's VariableNebula (NGC 1555).T Tauri stars are now generally recognized as young,less than a few million years old,sun-like stars still in the earlystages of formation. Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Jupiter <| 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 November 22 IC 342: Hidden Galaxy in Camelopardalis Image Credit &Copyright: Steve Cannistra Explanation: Similarin size to large, bright spiral galaxies in our neighborhood,IC 342is a mere 10 million light-yearsdistantin the long-necked, northern constellationCamelopardalis.A sprawling island universe,IC 342 would otherwise be a prominent galaxy in our night sky,but it is hidden from clear view and onlyglimpsed through the veil of stars, gas and dust cloudsalong the plane of our own Milky Way galaxy.Even though IC 342's light is dimmed and reddened by interveningcosmic clouds,thissharp telescopic imagetraces the galaxy's own obscuring dust, young star clusters, andglowing star forming regions along spiral arms that wind far fromthe galaxy's core.IC 342 has undergone a recent burst ofstar formationactivity and is close enough to have gravitationally influencedthe evolution of thelocal groupof galaxies and the Milky Way. 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...

Light pollution is usually not a problem

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 18 Planet Earth from Orion Image Credit:NASA,Artemis I Explanation: One year agoa Space Launch System rocket left planet Earthon November 16, 2022 at 1:47am EST carrying the Orion spacecraft on theArtemis I mission, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep spaceexploration systems.Over an hour afterliftoff from Kennedy Space Center'shistoricLaunch Complex 39B, one of Orion'sexternal video camerascaptured this view of its newperspective from space.In the foreground are Orion's Orbital Maneuvering System engineand auxillary engines,at the bottom of the European Service Module.Beyond one of the module's 7-meter long extended solar array wingslies the spacecraft'sbeautiful home world.Making close flybys of thelunar surface and reaching aretrograde orbit 70,000 kilometers beyond the Moon, theuncrewed Artemis I missionlasted over 25 days,testing capabilities to enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars.Building on thesuccessof Artemis I,no earlier than November 2024the Artemis II missionwith a crew of 4 will venture around the Moon and back again. Tomorrow's picture: Sun day <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry...

APOD: 2023 November 16 - Daytime Moon Meets Morning Star 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 16 Daytime Moon Meets Morning Star Image Credit &Copyright:Katarzyna Kaczmarczyk Explanation: Venus nowappears as Earth's brilliant morning star, shiningabove the southeastern horizon before dawn.For early morning risers, the silvery celestialbeacon rose predawn in a close pairingwith a waning crescent Moon on Thursday, November 9.But from somenorthern locations,the Moon was seen to occult or pass in front of Venus.From much of Europe,the lunar occultation could beviewed in daylight skies.This time series compositefollows the daytime approach of Moon and morning starin blue skies from Warsaw, Poland.The progression of eightsharp telescopic snapshots,made between 10:56am and 10:58am local time,runs from left to right, when Venuswinked out behind the bright lunar limb. Tomorrow's picture: Aurora over Greenland<| 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.

Light pollution is usually not a problem

APOD: 2023 November 15 - M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab 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 15 M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab Image Credit:NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University) Explanation: Cataloged as M1,the Crab Nebula is the first onCharlesMessier's famous list of things which arenot comets.In fact, the Crab Nebula isnow known to be a supernova remnant, an expandingcloud of debris from the death explosion of a massive star.The violent birth of the Crab was witnessedby astronomers in the year 1054.Roughly10 light-years across,the nebula is still expandingat a rateof about 1,500 kilometers per second.You can see the expansion bycomparing these sharp images from theHubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.The Crab's dynamic, fragmented filaments were captured in visiblelight by Hubble in 2005 and Webb in infrared light in 2023.This cosmic crustaceanlies about 6,500 light-years away in theconstellation Taurus. Tomorrow's picture: daytime Moon, morning star<| 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...

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 16 Daytime Moon Meets Morning Star Image Credit &Copyright:Katarzyna Kaczmarczyk Explanation: Venus nowappears as Earth's brilliant morning star, shiningabove the southeastern horizon before dawn.For early morning risers, the silvery celestialbeacon rose predawn in a close pairingwith a waning crescent Moon on Thursday, November 9.But from somenorthern locations,the Moon was seen to occult or pass in front of Venus.From much of Europe,the lunar occultation could beviewed in daylight skies.This time series compositefollows the daytime approach of Moon and morning starin blue skies from Warsaw, Poland.The progression of eightsharp telescopic snapshots,made between 10:56am and 10:58am local time,runs from left to right, when Venuswinked out behind the bright lunar limb. Tomorrow's picture: Aurora over Greenland<| 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 15 M1: The Incredible Expanding Crab Image Credit:NASA, ESA, CSA,STScI;Jeff Hester (ASU), Allison Loll (ASU), Tea Temim (Princeton University) Explanation: Cataloged as M1,the Crab Nebula is the first onCharlesMessier's famous list of things which arenot comets.In fact, the Crab Nebula isnow known to be a supernova remnant, an expandingcloud of debris from the death explosion of a massive star.The violent birth of the Crab was witnessedby astronomers in the year 1054.Roughly10 light-years across,the nebula is still expandingat a rateof about 1,500 kilometers per second.You can see the expansion bycomparing these sharp images from theHubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.The Crab's dynamic, fragmented filaments were captured in visiblelight by Hubble in 2005 and Webb in infrared light in 2023.This cosmic crustaceanlies about 6,500 light-years away in theconstellation Taurus. Tomorrow's picture: daytime Moon, morning star<| 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&...

APOD: 2023 November 10 - UHZ1: Distant Galaxy and 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. 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...