-
Daily APOD Report
From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Wednesday, April 01, 2026 00:26:18
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Thursday, April 02, 2026 01:36:04
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Friday, April 03, 2026 00:14:04
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.
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From
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All on Saturday, April 04, 2026 00:28:34
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Sunday, April 05, 2026 00:56:58
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Tuesday, April 07, 2026 00:08:48
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Wednesday, April 08, 2026 01:05:26
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Thursday, April 09, 2026 00:25:22
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Friday, April 10, 2026 00:21:22
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 10
Exploring the Antennae
Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition - Mike Selby Processing - Roberto
Colombari
Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly
constellation Corvus, two large galaxies are colliding. Stars in the
two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, very rarely collide
in the course of the ponderous cataclysm that lasts for hundreds of
millions of years. But the galaxies' large clouds of molecular gas and
dust often do, triggering furious episodes of star formation near the
center of the cosmic wreckage. Spanning over 50 thousand light-years,
this stunning telescopic frame also reveals new star clusters and
matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal
forces. The remarkably sharp ground-based image follows the faint tidal
tails and distant background galaxies in the field of view. The
suggestive overall visual appearance of the extended arcing structures
gives the galaxy pair, also known as Arp 244, its popular name - The
Antennae.
Artemis II: mission updates
Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
__________________________________________________________________
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.
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From
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All on Saturday, April 11, 2026 00:43:16
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 11
Artemis II: Flight Day 6
Image Credit: NASA, Artemis II
Explanation: On flight day 6 (April 6) the Artemis II mission achieved
a historic lunar flyby. Rounding the lunar far side, the deep space
maneuver marked humanity's first venture to the Moon since Apollo 17 in
1972. The Orion spacecraft Integrity reached a maximum distance of
nearly 407,000 kilometers, and the Artemis II crew, Reid Wiseman,
Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, set the record
for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human since the
Apollo 13 crew in 1970. From behind the Moon on flight day 6, a solar
array wing camera recorded this space age selfie, framing the
spacecraft and lunar far side. Planet Earth, home to the Artemis II
crew, is the small, bright crescent beyond the lunar limb. The crew
safely returned home on Artemis II mission flight day 10.
Artemis II: Splashdown
Tomorrow's picture: beyond the Milky Way
__________________________________________________________________
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
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NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Sunday, April 12, 2026 00:17:44
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 12
A starry night is seen above foreground mountains. Toward the right is
a comet with its head near the bottom center and a long tail extending
toward the upper right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.
Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) Brightens
Image Credit & Copyright: Jos+¬ Rodrigues
Explanation: Comet R3 is brightening rapidly -- will it survive? C/2025
R3 (PanSTARRS) has been slowly brightening and extending an ion tail
since its discovery last year. This shedding mountain of dirty ice puts
on its best sky show this month, though, because it passes its closest
to both the Sun (April 19) and the Earth (April 25). The featured
image, showing R3 already sporting a tail extending over 10 degrees,
was taken two nights ago from Sion, Switzerland with the big mountain
Bietschhorn on the left. Comet R3 will be visible during mid-April
before sunrise. Although the future brightness of any comet is hard to
predict, the brightness of R3 makes it already a good camera comet and
it may become visible to the unaided eye in the next week. Comet R3's
physical future is also unknown because, like Comet A1 (MAPS) earlier
this month, it may disintegrate when it passes its closest to the Sun.
Or it may live to leave the Solar System.
Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026
Tomorrow's picture: oyster stars
__________________________________________________________________
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
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NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Monday, April 13, 2026 00:17:40
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 13
A starfield surrounds a large light-brown nebula that has several dust
pillars. In the center of the nebula are many bright blue stars. Some
distant galaxies are visible through and around the nebula. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.
NGC 602 and Beyond
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) -
ESA/Hubble Collaboration
Explanation: The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like
pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic
Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5
million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal gas and
dust, NGC 602 is featured in this stunning Hubble image of the region.
Fantastic ridges and swept back shapes strongly suggest that energetic
radiation and shock waves from NGC 602's massive young stars have
eroded the dusty material and triggered a progression of star formation
moving away from the cluster's center. At the estimated distance of the
Small Magellanic Cloud, the featured picture spans about 200
light-years, but a tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are
also visible in this sharp multi-colored view. The background galaxies
are hundreds of millions of light-years or more beyond NGC 602.
Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 00:36:30
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 14
A star field surrounds a bright comet with a long tail. The green coma
of the comet is seen on the lower left, while the light blue ion tail
extends to the upper right and shows wavey structure. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.
The Long Wispy Tail of Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)
Image Credit & Copyright: Haythem Hamdi
Explanation: Why does Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) have a wispy tail? The
newest bright member of the inner Solar System, Comet C/2025 R3
(PanSTARRS) is already extending an impressive stream of glowing gas.
This tail starts from an unseen central nucleus of dirty ice that is
likely a few kilometers across. The nucleus is warmed by the Sun and
emits a cloud of neutral gas into a coma that glows light green.
Nuclear gas ionized by energetic sunlight is pushed away from the Sun
by the solar wind into an ion tail that glows light blue. The wispy
nature of the ion tail is caused by the constantly changing structure
of the solar wind. Pictured from Rhode Island, USA two days ago, Comet
R3 (PanSTARRS) shows off a many-degree ion tail. Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)
is best seen before dawn from northern skies for another 10 days, after
which it will be best visible from southern skies.
Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026
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.
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From
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All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 00:09:48
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 15
The relatively small International Space Station sits atop the image,
about to transit in front of the illuminated Moon. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.
The ISS Transits the Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: S+¬bastien Borie
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)
Explanation: Nope, that is not an alien spaceship landing on the Moon!
This is an image of the International Space Station (ISS) as it begins
to transit in front of the Moon. The ISS is in low-Earth orbit (LEO)
where it wizzes around the Earth every 90 minutes. Orbiting the Earth
16 times per day for 25 years, the ISS has photobombed many familiar
celestial objects including Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the Sun. Thousands
of experiments led by researchers from over one hundred countries have
been conducted on the ISS. Growing protein crystals in low-gravity was
one of the first experiments onboard the ISS and continues to
contribute to new medical treatments. ISS astronauts study plant
growth, water recycling, human health, and more to support the Artemis
missions which will take humans farther than theyCÇÖve ever gone before.
Next time you are out and about at night, try to spot the ISS zooming
across the sky!
Tomorrow's picture: the night sky in Brazil
__________________________________________________________________
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Thursday, April 16, 2026 02:01:20
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 16
A dead tree branch on the foreground appears to support a spinning
wheel of stars on the night sky. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.
South Celestial Tree
Image Credit & Copyright: Kiko Fairbairn
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
Explanation: If you live in the northern hemisphere, you may have
learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris, in the night sky. It can
be used to find north, and it approximately marks the northern
celestial pole. If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no
bright star marking the southern celestial pole, but the Southern Cross
can be used to find south. The featured image was taken in Padre
Bernardo (GO), Brazil. It shows the apparent motion of the stars around
the apparently empty southern celestial pole over 2 hours, on August
20, 2018. Each star takes about 24 hours to make a complete turn around
the pole in the sky. Padre Bernardo is located in the Cerrado region, a
tropical savanna that occupies most of central Brazil and supports rich
biodiversity. The barren branch that apparently supports this sky wheel
of rotating stars is a common sight there in the dry season during the
southern winter.
Tomorrow's picture: starburst and superwind
__________________________________________________________________
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.
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Friday, April 17, 2026 00:24:16
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 17
M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind
Image Credit & Copyright: Arnaud Malleval
Explanation: Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In
fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive
stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a prodigious
outflow. Evidence for the superwind from the galaxy's central regions
is clear in the sharp telescopic portrait. The composite image includes
33 hours of narrowband data, highlighting emission from long outflow
filaments of atomic hydrogen gas in reddish hues. Some of the gas in
the superwind, enriched in heavy elements forged in the massive stars,
will eventually escape into intergalactic space. Triggered by a close
encounter with nearby large galaxy M81, the furious burst of star
formation in M82 should last about 100 million years or so. Also known
as the Cigar Galaxy for its elongated visual appearance, M82 is about
30,000 light-years across. It lies 12 million light-years away near the
northern boundary of Ursa Major.
Tomorrow's picture: just dust
__________________________________________________________________
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.
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* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)
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From
Alan Ianson@1:153/757 to
All on Saturday, April 18, 2026 00:23:10
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 18
PanSTARRS and Planets
Image Credit & Copyright: Luc Perrot (TWAN)
Explanation: Near the eastern horizon before sunrise, Comet C/2025 R3
PanSTARRS is getting brighter. Readily visible in binoculars and small
telescopes, the comet may be just on the verge of naked-eye visibility
from dark sky sites. Though it was not quite apparent to the eye,
PanSTARRS is still easy to spot in this camera image taken on April 16.
In the view from a volcanic peak overlooking France's Reunion Island,
planet Earth, the comet shares eastern predawn skies with naked-eye
planets Mars and Mercury and fainter Neptune. Saturn is hiding behind
the low cloudbank that doesn't quite hide an old crescent Moon. This is
a good weekend for northern hemisphere comet watchers to try to catch
PanSTARRS an hour or so before sunrise, as the comet grows brighter
approaching its perihelion on April 19. On April 26 the comet makes its
closest approach to our fair planet but by then will be difficult to
see in the solar glare. Good views of this comet PanSTARRS in late
April and early May will be from the southern hemisphere.
Tomorrow's picture: starry-eyed
__________________________________________________________________
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.
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* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)