Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 01
Large clouds of interstellar gas and dust of various shapes and sizes
cover the image. A cloud shaped like a bubble sits atop the image,
while a cloud shaped like a claw is in the middle.

The Claw and Bubble Nebulae
Image Credit & Copyright: Richard Whitehead
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: What unexpected things do you see when you look up at the
night sky? TodayCÇÖs image resembles an abstract painting, with large
swaths of color strewn across a cosmic canvas seemingly without design.
Despite the image's abstract nature, the human mind finds patterns,
identifying a large claw reaching up towards a floating bubble.
Embedded within these seemingly random structures are the physical laws
that govern how light and matter interact. The Claw (Sh2-157) and
Bubble (NGC 7635) Nebulae glow colors that are mapped to the yellow and
blue shown, indicating the presence of hydrogen and oxygen ionized by
the intense light emitted from stars several times the mass of the Sun.
This image depicts both the chaos and structure of astronomical
processes, showing that a common thread between art and science is to
look for the unexpected.

Tomorrow's picture: warping spacetime
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 2
A towering rocket ignites and lifts off from acoastal launch pad at
dusk, its bright plume of fire and exhaust illuminating thick clouds of
smoke spreading accross the ground.

Liftoff! Returning to the Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: NASA/Bill Ingalls; Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU)

Explanation: We are one small step closer to returning to the Moon. A
new chapter in human exploration began yesterday when NASA's Artemis II
launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) from Kennedy Space
Center. Carrying four astronauts, the Orion spacecraft's planned lunar
flyby will be the first in over half a century. This historic test
flight, echoing the legacy of Apollo while pushing beyond it, will
carry its crew farther from Earth than any humans since 1972, looping
around the Moon before returning home. During the approximately ten-day
journey, Orion's systems--from life support to navigation--will be
tested in deep space, while astronauts observe the lunar surface,
including shadowed regions of the far side rarely seen with such
perspective. After looping around the Moon, the astronauts will return
to Earth, ending their journey with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

Tomorrow's picture: Warping Spacetime
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 3
Illustration showing a binary black hole close to merger in front of
the Tarantula Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Caught in the Web: Visualization of a Black Hole Merger in the
Tarantula Nebula
Illustration Credit & Copyright: Artwork: Carl Knox (OzGrav, Swinburne
University of Technology);
Astrophotography: Blake Estes & Christian Sasse, iTelescope.net; Text:
Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: How can we see what is invisible? Black holes are not easy
to see in the dark cosmic night, but astronomers can find them by
analyzing their gravitational effects on matter, light and spacetime.
The featured image shows an illustration that combines a simulation of
a black hole binary system in its final "death-dance" with an
astrophotography image of the Tarantula Nebula in the background. Even
though black holes don't emit light, they distort the path of light
rays, acting like a gravitational lens. As a result, the nebula appears
extremely distorted, forming Einstein rings and multiple images.
Tarantula Nebula lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy
that is one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, 160,000
light-years away. That is more than 1,000 times closer than any of the
binary black hole mergers detected so far. We'll probably never detect
a merger so close to home!

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 4

Hello World
Image Credit: NASA, Reid Wiseman, Artemis II

Explanation: From pole to pole our fair planet is captured in this
snapshot from space, an evocative image from a window of the Orion
spacecraft Integrity. From the spacecraft's perspective the Sun is
moving behind Earth's bright limb along the lower right. Africa and the
Iberian peninsula are in view on the pale blue planet's surface, while
aurorae crown Earth's south and north poles at top right and bottom
left. Commander Reid Wiseman took the historic picture on Artemis II
mission flight day 2 (April 2), after the completion of the planned
translunar injection burn. That burn boosted the spacecraft out of
Earth orbit, sending Integrity and crew on a trajectory that will take
them around the Moon and back again. That's a journey humans last made
over 50 years ago.

Tomorrow's picture: starburst spiral
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 5
A starfield has a spiral galaxy in the center. Around the galaxy is a
light blue faint halo. One of the spiral arms juts out at about 11
o'clock. The galaxy center is red, white, and quite bright. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

NGC 3310: A Starburst Spiral Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: AAO ITSO Office, Gemini Obs./AURA & T. A.
Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage)

Explanation: The party is still going on in spiral galaxy NGC 3310.
Roughly 100 million years ago, NGC 3310 likely collided with a smaller
galaxy causing the large spiral galaxy to light up with a tremendous
burst of star formation. The changing gravity during the collision
created density waves that compressed existing clouds of gas and
triggered the star-forming party. The featured image from the Gemini
North Telescope shows the galaxy in great detail, color-coded so that
pink highlights gas while white and blue highlight stars. Some of the
star clusters in the galaxy are quite young, indicating that starburst
galaxies may remain in star-burst mode for quite some time. NGC 3310
spans about 50,000 light years, lies about 50 million light years away,
and is visible with a small telescope towards the constellation of
Great Bear Ursa Major.

Tomorrow's picture: horsehead high
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 7
A starfield surrounds a large nebula that is mostly brown and blue and
has an appearance reminiscent of the head of a horse. This nebula is
not the more famous Horsehead Nebula. Please see the explanation for
more detailed information.

IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Rabeea Alkuwari

Explanation: Do you see the horse's head? What you are seeing is not
the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula
that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part
of the here-imaged molecular cloud complex is reflection nebula IC
4592. Reflection nebulas are made up of very fine dust that normally
appears dark but can look quite blue when reflecting the visible light
of energetic nearby stars. In this case, the source of much of the
reflected light is a star at the eye of the horse. That star is part of
Nu Scorpii, one of the brighter star systems toward the constellation
of the Scorpion (Scorpius). A second reflection nebula dubbed IC 4601
is visible surrounding two stars just below the image center. The
featured picture was taken from Sawda Natheel in Qatar.

Jigsaw Nebula: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

n.'n.'

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 8
NASA alt text: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at
6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew s flyby of the
Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the
cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing
nighttime. On Earth s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the
Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has
terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central
peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on
impact, splashes upwards during the crater s formation.

Earthset
Image Credit: NASA
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: "And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth,
we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side," said
Artemis II pilot Victor Glover on April 6^th at 6:44pm ET as 8.3
billion minus four people and one Earth set below the Moon's horizon.
The Orion spacecraft, Integrity, then traveled behind the Moon as part
of its seven-hour lunar flyby. The crew characterized never-before-seen
regions of the far side of the Moon, which is puzzlingly less
volcanically active than the near side. New observations of crater
peaks, floors, terraces, and rings preserved on the lunar surface will
help piece together the impact history of the Solar System. Among many
other surface characterizations, the crew observed one of the Moon's
best-preserved basins, the Orientale basin, and identified two new
craters. As Earth rose above the Moon s horizon and Integrity began its
return home, Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch powerfully
summarized humanity s grander mission: "...we will always choose Earth.
We will always choose each other."

Tomorrow's picture: the death of a comet
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 9

Destruction of Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
Video Credit: Brian Day, SOHO, SDO, JHelioviewer
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: As the crew of Artemis II travelled towards the Moon this
week, Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was expected to have its closest approach
to the Sun on Monday. At this point, comet and Sun would be closer than
half the distance separating the Earth and Moon. The comet did not
survive; the featured video was made with 40 hours of data and shows
the comet plunging toward the Sun, like a moth to a flame. Observing
the comet so close to our bright star requires a coronagraph, an
instrument that blocks the Sun and is used for studies of its corona.
This composite video combines, starting from the outside, views from:
the wider angle coronagraph (blue) and the narrower angle coronagraph
(red), both on NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and NASA's
Solar Dynamics Observatory (black). We can see the comet approaching
the sun, stretching, disappearing behind the coronagraph's occulting
disk and reappearing as a cloud of debris that dissipates.

Tomorrow's picture: galactic antennae
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)