APOD: 2024 September 13 - Aurora Australis and the International Space Station 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 September 13 Aurora Australis and the International Space Station Image Credit: NASA,ISSExpedition 71 Explanation: This snapshotfrom theInternational Space Stationwas taken on August 11while orbiting about 430 kilometersabove the Indian Ocean, Southern Hemisphere,planet Earth.The spectacular view looks south and east,down toward the planet's horizon and through red and greencurtains ofaurora australis.The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygenatoms in the extremely rarefiedupper atmospherestill present at the level of the orbiting outpost.Green emission from atomic oxygen dominates this sceneat altitudes of 100 to 250 kilometers, while red emissionfrom atomic oxygen can extend as high as 500 kilometers altitude.Beyond the glow of these southern lights, this viewfrom low Earth orbit reveals the starry sky from a southernhemisphere perspective.Stars in Orion's belt and the Orion Nebula are near the Earth's limbjust left of center.Sirius, alpha star ofCanis Majorand brightest star in planet Earth'snight is above centeralong the right edge of the southern orbital skyscape. Looking Up:International Observe the Moon Night Tomorrow's picture: If the Moon could...

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 September 14 The Moona Lisa Image Credit &Copyright:Gianni SarconeandMarcella Giulia Pace Explanation: Only natural colorsof the Moon in planet Earth's sky appear in this creative visual presentation.Arrangedas pixelsin a framed image, the lunar disks were photographed at different times.Their varying hues are ultimately due to reflected sunlightaffected by changing atmospheric conditions and thealignmentgeometry of Moon, Earth, and Sun.Here, the darkest lunar disks are thecolors of earthshine.A description of earthshine, in terms of sunlight reflected by Earth'soceans illuminating the Moon's dark surface, was written over 500 yearsago by Leonardo da Vinci. But stand farther back from your screen or just shift your gaze to thesmaller versions of the image.You might also see one of da Vinci's most famousworks of art. Tonight:International Observe the Moon Night Tomorrow's picture: lunar pronouns<| 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: 2024 September 12 - Young Star Cluster NGC 1333 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 September 12 Young Star Cluster NGC 1333 Image Credit: ESA/Webb,NASA,CSA,A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana Explanation: This spectacular mosaicof images from the James Webb Space Telescope peers intothe heart of young star cluster NGC 1333.A mere 1,000 light-years distant toward the heroic constellationPerseus,the nearby star cluster liesat the edge of the large Perseus molecular cloud.Part of Webb's deepexplorationof the region to identifylow mass brown dwarf stars and free floating planets,the space telescope's combined field of view spans nearly 2 light-yearsacross the dusty cluster'sturbulent stellar nursery.In fact, NGC 1333 is known to harbor stars less thana million years old, though most arehidden from optical telescopesby the pervasive stardust.The chaotic environment may be similar to one in which our own Sunformed over 4.5 billion years ago. 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,NASA ScienceActivation&...

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 September 13 Aurora Australis and the International Space Station Image Credit: NASA,ISSExpedition 71 Explanation: This snapshotfrom theInternational Space Stationwas taken on August 11 while orbiting about 430 kilometersabove the Indian Ocean, Southern Hemisphere,planet Earth.The spectacular view looks south and east,down toward the planet's horizon and through red and greencurtains ofaurora australis.The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygenatoms in the extremely rarefiedupper atmospherestill present at the level of the orbiting outpost.Green emission from atomic oxygen dominates this sceneat altitudes of 100 to 250 kilometers, while red emissionfrom atomic oxygen can extend as high as 500 kilometers altitude.Beyond the glow of these southern lights, this viewfrom low Earth orbit reveals the starry sky from a southernhemisphere perspective.Stars in Orion's belt and the Orion Nebula are near the Earth's limbjust left of center.Sirius, alpha star ofCanis Majorand brightest star in planet Earth'snight is above centeralong the right edge of the southern orbital skyscape. Looking Up:International Observe the Moon Night Tomorrow's picture: If the Moon could smile<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search|...

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 September 12 Young Star Cluster NGC 1333 Image Credit: ESA/Webb,NASA,CSA,A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld, R. Jayawardhana Explanation: This spectacular mosaicof images from the James Webb Space Telescope peers intothe heart of young star cluster NGC 1333.A mere 1,000 light-years distant toward the heroic constellationPerseus,the nearby star cluster liesat the edge of the large Perseus molecular cloud.Part of Webb's deepexplorationof the region to identifylow mass brown dwarf stars and free floating planets,the space telescope's combined field of view spans nearly 2 light-yearsacross the dusty cluster'sturbulent stellar nursery.In fact, NGC 1333 is known to harbor stars less thana million years old, though most arehidden from optical telescopesby the pervasive stardust.The chaotic environment may be similar to one in which our own Sunformed over 4.5 billion years ago. 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,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. 2024 September 7 Small Moon Deimos Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA Explanation: Mars has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos,named for the figures in Greek mythology Fear and Panic.Detailed surface views of smaller moon Deimos are shownin both these panels.Theimages were taken in 2009,by the HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiterspacecraft, NASA's long-livedinterplanetary internetsatellite.The outermost of the two Martian moons,Deimos is one of the smallest known moons in the Solar System, measuring only about 15 kilometers across. Both Martian moons were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall, an American astronomer working at the US Naval Observatory in Washington D.C.But their existence was postulated around 1610 by Johannes Kepler, the astronomer who derived the laws of planetary motion.In this case, Kepler's predictionwas not based on scientific principles, buthis writings and ideas were so influential that the two Martian moonsare discussed in works of fiction such as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, written in 1726, over 150 years before their discovery. Tomorrow's picture: large galaxy Andromeda<| Archive| Submissions | Index|...

APOD: 2024 September 6 - Ringed Ice Giant Neptune 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 September 6 Ringed Ice Giant Neptune Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,NIRCam Explanation: Ringed ice giant Neptunelies near the center of this sharpnear-infrared image from theJames Webb Space Telescope.The dim and distant world is thefarthest planet from the Sun,about 30 times farther away than planet Earth.But in the stunning Webb view, the planet's dark and ghostly appearanceis due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light.High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune's absorbing methaneeasily stand out in the image though.Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune's largest moon Triton isbrighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight,seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope's characteristicdiffraction spikes.Including Triton, seven of Neptune's 14 known moons can beidentifiedin the field of view.Neptune's faint ringsare striking in this space-basedplanetary portrait.Details of the complex ring system are seen here for the firsttime since Neptune was visited by theVoyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989. Tomorrow's picture: terrorizing Mars<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)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 September 6 Ringed Ice Giant Neptune Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI,NIRCam Explanation: Ringed ice giant Neptunelies near the center of this sharpnear-infrared image from theJames Webb Space Telescope.The dim and distant world is thefarthest planet from the Sun,about 30 times farther away than planet Earth.But in the stunning Webb view, the planet's dark and ghostly appearanceis due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light.High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune's absorbing methaneeasily stand out in the image though.Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune's largest moon Triton isbrighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight,seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope's characteristicdiffraction spikes.Including Triton, seven of Neptune's 14 known moons can beidentifiedin the field of view.Neptune's faint ringsare striking in this space-basedplanetary portrait.Details of the complex ring system are seen here for the firsttime since Neptune was visited by theVoyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989. Tomorrow's picture: terrorizing Mars<| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)NASA Official: Phillip NewmanSpecific rights...

APOD: 2024 September 5 - NGC 247 and Friends 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 September 5 NGC 247 and Friends Image Credit &Copyright: Acquisition -Eric Benson,Processing -DietmarHager Explanation: About 70,000 light-years across,NGC 247is a spiral galaxy smaller than our Milky Way.Measured to beonly 11 million light-years distant it is nearby though.Tilted nearly edge-on as seenfrom our perspective,it dominates this telescopic field of view toward thesouthern constellation Cetus.The pronounced void on one side of the galaxy's disk recallsfor some its popular name, the Needle's Eye galaxy.Many background galaxies are visible inthis sharp galaxy portrait,including the remarkable string of four galaxiesjust below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge's Chain.Burbidge's Chain galaxiesare about 300 million light-years distant.NGC 247 itself is part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along withshiny spiral NGC 253. 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.

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 September 5 NGC 247 and Friends Image Credit &Copyright: Acquisition -Eric Benson,Processing -DietmarHager Explanation: About 70,000 light-years across,NGC 247is a spiral galaxy smaller than our Milky Way.Measured to beonly 11 million light-years distant it is nearby though.Tilted nearly edge-on as seenfrom our perspective,it dominates this telescopic field of view toward thesouthern constellation Cetus.The pronounced void on one side of the galaxy's disk recallsfor some its popular name, the Needle's Eye galaxy.Many background galaxies are visible inthis sharp galaxy portrait,including the remarkable string of four galaxiesjust below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge's Chain.Burbidge's Chain galaxiesare about 300 million light-years distant.NGC 247 itself is part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along withshiny spiral NGC 253. 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.

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 August 31 IFN and the NGC 7771 Group Image Credit &Copyright: Steve MandelandBob Fera Explanation: Galaxies of the NGC 7771 Group are featured inthis intriguing skyscape.Some 200 million light-years distant toward the constellationPegasus,NGC 7771 is the large, edge-onspiral near center,about 75,000 light-years across, with two smaller galaxies below it.Large spiral NGC 7769 is seen face-on to the right.Galaxies of the NGC 7771 group are interacting, makingrepeated close passages that will ultimately resultin galaxy-galaxy mergers on a cosmic timescale.The interactions can be traced bydistortionsin the shape of the galaxies themselvesand faint streams of starscreated by their mutual gravitational tides.But a clear view of this galaxy group is difficult to come by asthe deep image also reveals extensive clouds offoreground dust sweeping across the fieldof view.The dim, dusty galactic cirrus clouds are known as Integrated Flux Nebulae.The faint IFN reflect starlight from our own Milky Way Galaxyand lie only a few hundred light-years above thegalactic plane. Tomorrow's picture: moon dressing <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| >...

APOD: 2024 August 30 - Southern Moonscape 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 August 30 Southern Moonscape Image Credit &Copyright: Lorand Fenyes Explanation: The Moon's south poleis toward the top left of thisdetailedtelescopic moonscape.Captured on August 23, itlooks across the rugged southern lunar highlands.The view's foreshortened perspective heightens the impression of adense field of craters and makes the craters themselves appearmore oval shaped close to the lunar limb.Prominentnear center is114 kilometer diameter crater Moretus.Moretus is young for a large lunar crater and features terraced inner walls and a 2.1 kilometerhigh, central peak, similar in appearance to the more northerlyyoung crater Tycho.Mountains visible along the lunar limb at the top can rise about6 kilometers or so above the surrounding terrain.Close to the lunar south pole,permanently shadowed crater floorswith expected reservoirs of water-icehave made the rugged south polar region of the Moon apopular target for exploration. 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&...

APOD: 2024 August 29 - Star Factory Messier 17 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 August 29 Star Factory Messier 17 Image Credit &Copyright: Gaetan Maxant Explanation: A nearby star factory known asMessier 17lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellationSagittarius.At that distance, this 1.5 degree widefield-of-view would span about 150 light-years.Inthe sharp color composite imagefaint details of the region's gas and dust cloudsare highlighted with narrowband image data against a backdrop ofcentral Milky Way stars.The stellar winds and energetic radiation from hot, massive stars alreadyformed from M17's stock of cosmic gas and dusthave slowly carved away at the remaining interstellar material,producing the nebula's cavernous appearance and theundulating shapes within.A popular stop on telescopic tours of the cosmos,M17 is also knownas the Omega or the Swan Nebula. Tomorrow's picture: southern moonscape <| 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 August 30 Southern Moonscape Image Credit &Copyright: Lorand Fenyes Explanation: The Moon's south poleis toward the top left of thisdetailedtelescopic moonscape.Captured on August 23, itlooks across the rugged southern lunar highlands.The view's foreshortened perspective heightens the impression of adense field of craters and makes the craters themselves appearmore oval shaped close to the lunar limb.Prominentnear center is114 kilometer diameter crater Moretus.Moretus is young for a large lunar crater and features terraced inner walls and a 2.1 kilometerhigh, central peak, similar in appearance to the more northerlyyoung crater Tycho.Mountains visible along the lunar limb at the top can rise about6 kilometers or so above the surrounding terrain.Close to the lunar south pole,permanently shadowed crater floorswith expected reservoirs of water-icehave made the rugged south polar region of the Moon apopular target for exploration. 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....

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 August 29 Star Factory Messier 17 Image Credit &Copyright: Gaetan Maxant Explanation: A nearby star factory known asMessier 17lies some 5,500 light-years away in the nebula-rich constellationSagittarius.At that distance, this 1.5 degree widefield-of-view would span about 150 light-years.Inthe sharp color composite imagefaint details of the region's gas and dust cloudsare highlighted with narrowband image data against a backdrop ofcentral Milky Way stars.The stellar winds and energetic radiation from hot, massive stars alreadyformed from M17's stock of cosmic gas and dusthave slowly carved away at the remaining interstellar material,producing the nebula's cavernous appearance and theundulating shapes within.A popular stop on telescopic tours of the cosmos,M17 is also knownas the Omega or the Swan Nebula. Tomorrow's picture: southern moonscape <| 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 August 24 South Pacific Shadowset Image Credit &Copyright: Jin Wang Explanation: Thefull MoonandEarth's shadowset together in this island skyscape.The alluring scene was captured Tuesday morning, August 20, fromFiji, South Pacific Ocean, planet Earth.For early morning risers shadowset in the western sky is adaily apparition.Still, the grey-blue shadowis often overlooked infavor of a brighter eastern horizon.Extending through the dense atmosphere,Earth's setting shadow is bounded above by a pinkish glow oranti-twilight arch.Known as the Belt of Venus, the arch's lovely color is due tobackscattering of reddened lightfrom the opposite horizon's rising Sun.Of course, the setting Moon's light isreddened by the long sight-line through the atmosphere.But on that date the full Moon could be called a seasonal Blue Moon,the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons.And even though thefull Moon is always impressivenear the horizon, August's full Moon is considered by somethe first of four consecutive full Supermoons in 2024. Tomorrow's picture: fresh tiger stripes <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors & editors:...

APOD: 2024 August 23 - Supernova Remnant CTA 1 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 August 23 Supernova Remnant CTA 1 Image Credit &Copyright: Thomas Lelu Explanation: There is aquiet pulsarat the heart of CTA 1.The supernova remnant wasdiscovered as asource of emissionat radio wavelengthsby astronomers in 1960and since identified as the result of thedeath explosion of a massive star.But no radio pulses were detected from the expected pulsar, therotating neutron starremnant of the massive star's collapsed core.Seen about 10,000 years after the initial supernova explosion,the interstellar debris cloud is faint at optical wavelengths.CTA 1's visible wavelengthemission from still expanding shock fronts is revealed inthis deep telescopic image,a frame that spans about 2 degrees across astarfield in the northern constellation of Cepheus.While no pulsar has since been found at radio wavelengths,in 2008 theFermi Gamma-ray Space Telescopedetected pulsed emission from CTA 1,identifying the supernova remnant'srotating neutron star.The source has been recognized as the firstin a growing class of pulsars that are quiet at radio wavelengths butpulse in high-energy gamma-rays. Tomorrow's picture: gone to Fiji <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education|...

APOD: 2024 August 22 - The Dark Tower in Scorpius 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 August 22 The Dark Tower in Scorpius Image Credit &Copyright: Mike Selby Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star fieldalong the tail of the arachnological constellationScorpius,this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of anominousdark tower.In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gascollapsingto form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula,a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across thisgorgeous telescopic portrait.Acometary globule, the swept-back cloudis shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from theOB associationof veryhot stars in NGC 6231,off the upper right corner of the scene.That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's borderingreddish glow of hydrogen gas.Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluishreflection nebulae.This dark tower andassociated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away. Growing Gallery: Moon Eclipses Saturn in August 2024 Tomorrow's picture: a dark pulsar <| 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...

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 August 23 Supernova Remnant CTA 1 Image Credit &Copyright: Thomas Lelu Explanation: There is aquiet pulsarat the heart of CTA 1.The supernova remnant wasdiscovered as asource of emissionat radio wavelengthsby astronomers in 1960and since identified as the result of thedeath explosion of a massive star.But no radio pulses were detected from the expected pulsar, therotating neutron starremnant of the massive star's collapsed core.Seen about 10,000 years after the initial supernova explosion,the interstellar debris cloud is faint at optical wavelengths.CTA 1's visible wavelengthemission from still expanding shock fronts is revealed inthis deep telescopic image,a frame that spans about 2 degrees across astarfield in the northern constellation of Cepheus.While no pulsar has since been found at radio wavelengths,in 2008 theFermi Gamma-ray Space Telescopedetected pulsed emission from CTA 1,identifying the supernova remnant'srotating neutron star.The source has been recognized as the firstin a growing class of pulsars that are quiet at radio wavelengths butpulse in high-energy gamma-rays. Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors &...

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 August 22 The Dark Tower in Scorpius Image Credit &Copyright: Mike Selby Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star fieldalong the tail of the arachnological constellationScorpius,this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of anominousdark tower.In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gascollapsingto form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula,a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across thisgorgeous telescopic portrait.Acometary globule, the swept-back cloudis shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from theOB associationof veryhot stars in NGC 6231,off the upper right corner of the scene.That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's borderingreddish glow of hydrogen gas.Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluishreflection nebulae.This dark tower andassociated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away. Growing Gallery: Moon Eclipses Saturn in August 2024 Tomorrow's picture: a dark pulsar <| 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.