APOD: 2022 December 8 - Orion and the Ocean of Storms 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 December 8 Orion and the Ocean of Storms Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: A camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft capturedthis view on December 5as Orion approached its return poweredflyby of the Moon. Below one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies dark, smooth,terrain along thewestern edge of the Oceanus Procellarum.Prominent on the lunar nearsideOceanus Procellarum,the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of theMoon's lava-flooded maria.The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day,runs along the left of the frame.The 41 kilometer diametercrater Mariusis top center, with raycrater Keplerpeeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing.Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching thedark-floored Marius.Of course theOrion spacecraft is now headed toward aDecember 11 splashdown inplanet Earth'swater-flooded Pacific Ocean. 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...

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. 2022 December 9 Mars Rises above the Lunar Limb Image Credit &Copyright: Tom Glenn Explanation: On the night of December 7Mars wandered near the Full Moon.In factthe Red Planet was occulted, passingbehind the Moon, when viewed from locations acrossEurope and North America.About an hour after disappearing behind the lunar diskMars reappears in this stack ofsharp video frames capturedfrom San Diego,planet Earth.With the Moon in the foreground Mars was a mere 82 million kilometersdistant, nearits own opposition.Full Moon and full Mars were bright enough provide thespectacular image with no exposure adjustments necessary.In the image Mars appearsto rise just over ancient, dark-floored,lunar crater Abelvery close to the southeastern edge of the Moon'snear side.Humboldt is the large impact crater to its north (left). Tomorrow's picture: Challenger and the Sea of Serenity <| 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: 2022 December 7 - NGC 7293: The Helix 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 December 7 NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula Image Credit &Copyright:Tommaso Stella Explanation: A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, toward the constellationAquarius,a sun-like star is dying.The dying star's last few thousand years have produced theHelixNebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of aPlanetaryNebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atomsin red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues,it shows tantalizingdetailsof the Helix, including its bright inner regionabout 3 light-years across.The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot,central star.A simple looking nebula at first glance,the Helix is now understood to have a surprisinglycomplex geometry. Tomorrow's picture: Orion and the Ocean of Storms <| 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. 2022 December 8 Orion and the Ocean of Storms Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: A camera on board the uncrewed Orion spacecraft capturedthis view on December 5as Orion approached its return poweredflyby of the Moon. Below one of Orion's extended solar arrays lies dark, smooth,terrain along thewestern edge of the Oceanus Procellarum.Prominent on the lunar nearsideOceanus Procellarum,the Ocean of Storms, is the largest of theMoon's lava-flooded maria.The lunar terminator, shadow line between lunar night and day,runs along the left of the frame.The 41 kilometer diametercrater Mariusis top center, with raycrater Keplerpeeking in at the edge, just right of the solar array wing.Kepler's bright rays extend to the north and west, reaching thedark-floored Marius.Of course theOrion spacecraft is now headed toward aDecember 11 splashdown inplanet Earth'swater-flooded Pacific Ocean. 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 Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2022 December 6 - M16: A Star Forming Pillar from Webb 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 December 6 M16: A Star Forming Pillar from Webb Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI, Processing & Copyright: Mehmet Hakan Özsaraç Explanation: What’s happening inside this interstellar mountain?Stars are forming.The mountain is actually a column of gas and dust in the picturesque Eagle Nebula (M16). A pillar like this is so low in density that you could easily fly though it -- it only appears solid because of its high dust content and great depth.The glowing areas are lit internally by newly formed stars.These areas shine in red and infrared light because blue light is scattered away by intervening interstellar dust.The featured image was captured recently in near-infrared light in unprecedented detail by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched late last year.Energetic light, abrasive winds, and final supernovas from these young stars will slowly destroy this stellar birth column over the next 100,000 years. Astrophysicists: Browse 2,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library Tomorrow's picture: open space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS|...

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. 2022 December 7 NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula Image Credit &Copyright:Tommaso Stella Explanation: A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, toward the constellationAquarius,a sun-like star is dying.The dying star's last few thousand years have produced theHelixNebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of aPlanetaryNebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atomsin red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues,it shows tantalizingdetailsof the Helix, including its bright inner regionabout 3 light-years across.The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot,central star.A simple looking nebula at first glance,the Helix is now understood to have a surprisinglycomplex geometry. 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 Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2022 December 5 - Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star 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 December 5 Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster Image Credit & Copyright: Blake Estes (iTelescope Siding Spring Obs.) & Christian Sasse Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster?Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this.Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiadescan be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of alight-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident.The featured 11-hour exposure, taken from the Siding Spring Observatoryin Australia, covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters andM45,the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the...

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. 2022 December 6 M16: A Star Forming Pillar from Webb Image Credit: NASA,ESA,CSA,STScI, Processing & Copyright: Mehmet Hakan Özsaraç Explanation: What’s happening inside this interstellar mountain?Stars are forming.The mountain is actually a column of gas and dust in the picturesque Eagle Nebula (M16). A pillar like this is so low in density that you could easily fly though it -- it only appears solid because of its high dust content and great depth.The glowing areas are lit internally by newly formed stars.These areas shine in red and infrared light because blue light is scattered away by intervening interstellar dust.The featured image was captured recently in near-infrared light in unprecedented detail by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), launched late last year.Energetic light, abrasive winds, and final supernovas from these young stars will slowly destroy this stellar birth column over the next 100,000 years. Astrophysicists: Browse 2,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library Tomorrow's picture: open space <| Archive| Submissions | Index| Search| Calendar| RSS| Education| About APOD| Discuss| > Authors &...

APOD: 2022 December 3 - Stereo Mars 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. 2022 December 3 Stereo Mars near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright:Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Mars looks sharp in these two rooftop telescope views captured inlate November from Singapore, planet Earth.At the time,Mars was about 82 million kilometersfrom Singapore and approaching itsopposition, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky on December 8.Olympus Mons,largest of the volcanoes in the Tharsis Montes region(and largest known volcano in the Solar System), is near Mars'western limb.In both the images it's the whitish donut-shape at the upper right.The dark area visible near center is theTerra Sirenumregion while the long dark peninsula closest to theplanet's eastern limb is Sinus Gomer.Near its tip is Gale crater,the Curiosity rover'slanding site in 2012.Above Sinus Gomer, white spots are other volcanoes in theElysiumregion.At top of the planet is the north polar capcovered with ice and clouds.Taken about two days apart, these images of the samemartian hemisphereform a stereo pair.Look at the center of the frame and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see the Red Planet in 3D....

APOD: 2022 December 4 - Video: Powers of Ten 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. Video: Powers of Ten Video Credit & Copyright: Charles & Ray Eames (Eames Office) Explanation: How different does the universe look on very small scales? On very large scales?The most famous short science film of its generation gives breathtaking comparisons.That film, Powers of Ten, originally created in the 1960s, has been officially posted to YouTube and embeddedhere. From a picnic blanketnear Chicago out past theVirgo Cluster of Galaxies,every ten seconds the film zooms out to show a square a factor of ten times larger on each side.The 9-minute video then reverses, zooming back in a factor of ten every two seconds and ends up inside a single proton.The Powers of Ten sequence is actually based on the book Cosmic View by Kees Boeke in 1957, as is a similar but mostly animated film Cosmic Zoom that was also created in the late 1960s.The changing perspectives are so enthralling and educational that sections have been recreated using more modern computerized techniques, including the first few minutes of the movieContact.Ray...

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. 2022 December 5 Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster Image Credit & Copyright: Blake Estes (iTelescope Siding Spring Obs.) & Christian Sasse Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster?Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this.Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiadescan be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of alight-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident.The featured 11-hour exposure, taken from the Siding Spring Observatoryin Australia, covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters andM45,the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the unaided eye.The actual number of Pleiades...

APOD: 2022 December 3 - Stereo Mars 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 December 3 Stereo Mars near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright:Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Mars looks sharp in these two rooftop telescope views captured inlate November from Singapore, planet Earth.At the time,Mars was about 82 million kilometersfrom Singapore and approaching itsopposition, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky on December 8.Olympus Mons,largest of the volcanoes in the Tharsis Montes region(and largest known volcano in the Solar System), is near Mars'western limb.In both the images it's the whitish donut-shape at the upper right.The dark area visible near center is theTerra Sirenumregion while the long dark peninsula closest to theplanet's eastern limb is Sinus Gomer.Near its tip is Gale crater,the Curiosity rover'slanding site in 2012.Above Sinus Gomer, white spots are other volcanoes in theElysiumregion.At top of the planet is the north polar capcovered with ice and clouds.Taken about two days apart, these images of the samemartian hemisphereform a stereo pair.Look at the center of the frame and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see the Red Planet in 3D. 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. Video: Powers of Ten Video Credit & Copyright: Charles & Ray Eames (Eames Office) Explanation: How different does the universe look on very small scales? On very large scales?The most famous short science film of its generation gives breathtaking comparisons.That film, Powers of Ten, originally created in the 1960s, has been officially posted to YouTube and embeddedhere. From a picnic blanketnear Chicago out past theVirgo Cluster of Galaxies,every ten seconds the film zooms out to show a square a factor of ten times larger on each side.The 9-minute video then reverses, zooming back in a factor of ten every two seconds and ends up inside a single proton.The Powers of Ten sequence is actually based on the book Cosmic View by Kees Boeke in 1957, as is a similar but mostly animated film Cosmic Zoom that was also created in the late 1960s.The changing perspectives are so enthralling and educational that sections have been recreated using more modern computerized techniques, including the first few minutes of the movieContact.Ray and husband Charles Eames,...

APOD: 2022 December 2 - Merging Galaxy Pair IIZw096 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 December 2 Merging Galaxy Pair IIZw096 Image Credit:ESA/Webb,NASA & CSA, L. Armus, A. Evans Explanation: Bright at infrared wavelengths,this merging galaxy pairis some 500 million light-years away toward theconstellation Delphinus.Thecosmic mashupis seen against a background of even more distant galaxies,and occasional spiky foreground stars.But the galaxy merger itself spans about 100,000 light-yearsin this deepJames Webb Space Telescope image.The image data is from Webb's Near-InfraRed Camera(NIRCam)and Mid-InfraRed Instrument(MIRI).Their combined, sharp infrared view follows galactic scalerestructuringin the dusty merger's wild jumble of intense star forming regions and distorted spiral arms Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Saturday <| 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. 2022 December 3 Stereo Mars near Opposition Image Credit &Copyright:Marco Lorenzi Explanation: Mars looks sharp in these two rooftop telescope views captured inlate November from Singapore, planet Earth.At the time,Mars was about 82 million kilometersfrom Singapore and approaching itsopposition, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky on December 8.Olympus Mons,largest of the volcanoes in the Tharsis Montes region(and largest known volcano in the Solar System), is near Mars'western limb.In both the images it's the whitish donut-shape at the upper right.The dark area visible near center is theTerra Sirenumregion while the long dark peninsula closest to theplanet's eastern limb is Sinus Gomer.Near its tip is Gale crater,the Curiosity rover'slanding site in 2012.Above Sinus Gomer, white spots are other volcanoes in theElysiumregion.At top of the planet is the north polar capcovered with ice and clouds.Taken about two days apart, these images of the samemartian hemisphereform a stereo pair.Look at the center of the frame and cross your eyes untilthe separate images come together to see the Red Planet in 3D. Tomorrow's picture: Powers of...

APOD: 2022 December 1 - 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. 2022 December 1 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28) of the Artemis 1 mission theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth.In fact, over 430,000 kilometers from Earthits distant retrograde orbit also putOrion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon.In thesame field of viewin this video frame from flight day 13,planet and large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective.Today (December 1) shouldsee Orion departits distant retrograde orbit.En route to planet Earth it will head towarda second powered fly by of the Moon.Splashdown on the home world is expected on December 11. 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 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. 2022 December 2 Merging Galaxy Pair IIZw096 Image Credit:ESA/Webb,NASA & CSA, L. Armus, A. Evans Explanation: Bright at infrared wavelengths,this merging galaxy pairis some 500 million light-years away toward theconstellation Delphinus.Thecosmic mashupis seen against a background of even more distant galaxies,and occasional spiky foreground stars.But the galaxy merger itself spans about 100,000 light-yearsin this deepJames Webb Space Telescope image.The image data is from Webb's Near-InfraRed Camera(NIRCam)and Mid-InfraRed Instrument(MIRI).Their combined, sharp infrared view follows galactic scalerestructuringin the dusty merger's wild jumble of intense star forming regions and distorted spiral arms Tomorrow's picture: Stereo Saturday <| 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: 2022 November 30 - The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty 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 November 30 The Light, the Dark, and the Dusty Image Credit &Copyright: Anthony Quintile Explanation: This colorful skyscapespans about four full moons across nebula richstarfields along the plane ofour Milky Way Galaxy in the royal northern constellationCepheus.Near the edge of the region's massive molecular cloud some 2,400light-years away, bright reddish emission regionSharpless(Sh) 155 is at the center of the frame, also known as theCave Nebula.About 10 light-years across the cosmic cave's bright walls ofgas are ionized by ultraviolet light from the hot young stars around it.Dusty reflection nebulae,like vdB155 to the right, and dense obscuring clouds of dust also abound on theinterstellar canvas.Astronomicalexplorations haverevealed otherdramatic signs of star formation,including the bright reddish fleck ofHerbig-Haro(HH) 168.Below and right of center, the Herbig-Haro object emission isgenerated by energetic jets from anewborn star. 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...

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. 2022 December 1 Artemis 1: Flight Day 13 Image Credit:NASA,Artemis 1 Explanation: On flight day 13(November 28) of the Artemis 1 mission theOrion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth.In fact, over 430,000 kilometers from Earthits distant retrograde orbit also putOrion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon.In thesame field of viewin this video frame from flight day 13,planet and large natural satelliteeven appear about the same apparent size fromthe uncrewedspacecraft's perspective.Today (December 1) shouldsee Orion departits distant retrograde orbit.En route to planet Earth it will head towarda second powered fly by of the Moon.Splashdown on the home world is expected on December 11. 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 Science Activation& Michigan Tech. U.

APOD: 2022 November 29 - The Gum Nebula Supernova Remnant 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 November 29 The Gum Nebula Supernova Remnant Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Lima Explanation: Because the Gum Nebula is the closest supernova remnant, it is actually hard to see. Spanning 40 degrees across the sky, the nebula appears so large and faint that it is easily lost in the din of a bright and complex background. The Gum Nebula is highlighted nicely in red emission toward the right of the featured wide-angle, single-image photograph taken inlate May.Also visible in the frame are the Atacama Desert in Chile in the foreground,the Carina Nebula in the plane of our Milky Way galaxy running diagonally down from the upper left, and the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) galaxy.The Gum Nebula is so close that we are much nearer the front edge than the back edge, each measuring 450 and 1500 light years respectively. The complicated nebula lies in the direction of the constellations of Puppis and Vela. Oddly, much remains unknown about the Gum Nebula, including the timing and...