NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see the star forming region known as the Fishhead Nebula and also by its catalog designation of IC 1795. This region has been images using the Hubble Palette of colors which looks at the emission of three elements - oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur and maps them to the colors blue, green, and red respectively. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel ....

In today's image, we see GK Per which was seen to explode as a nova back in 1901. A nova occurs when material builds up on the surface of a white dwarf star and becomes sufficient for thermonuclear reactions to ignite on the surface, temporarily brightening the star. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD....

In today's image, we see the comet known as Pons-Brooks which has no rounded the Sun and is beginning its journey back to the outer solar system. In addition, we see a thin crescent moon and the two planets - Jupiter and Uranus. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website d...

In today's image, we see a very deep image of the Ring Nebula as observed by multiple large telescopes. This allows for the imaging of fainter rings around the traditional Ring Nebula we normally observe. Learning more about this type of nebula will help us to better understand the final fate of stars like our own Sun. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Pod...

In today's image, we see an all sky image of the eclipse of April 8. The outer portion shows the horizon while the central circular region shows the entire sky visible from this location. In the sky, we can see the fully eclipsed Sun as well as two planets - Venus and Jupiter with one visible on either side of our Sun. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Pod...

In today's image, we see the bright star Regulus which is the brightest star in the constellation of Leo. We see almost all stars as points of light because of their relatively small sizes compared to their great distances from us. We also see the Leo I dwarf spheroidal galaxy below Regulus. This is a galaxy in our own Local Group of galaxies. My podcasts are available in video form through this Y...

In today's image, we see a large star forming region in the galaxy M33: The Triangulum Galaxy. This is one of the spiral galaxies in our own Local Group of galaxies. The star forming region is one of the larger known in the Local Group, the largest being he Tarantula Nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an...

In today's image, we see an example of an emission nebula around a hot massive star. The ultraviolet light from the star excites the gases around it and causes them to glow. Patterns in the gas can be caused by motions of the star itself which has a stellar companion as well as effects from he magnetic field of the star itself. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel ....

In today's image, we see two contrails from airplanes that cross in the sky. Because of the positioning of the Sun and upper clouds, we also see the shadows cast by these contrails which form an X on the clouds above. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at:...

In today's image, we see a thin waning crescent moon in the sky over Mt. Etna. We also see smoke rings from the volcano - this is a rare effect that occurs only when conditions in both the volcano and the atmosphere are just right. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and websit...

In today's image, we see a time-lapse video clip from the Juno spacecraft as it made its 16 close approach to the planet Jupiter. Juno has a highly elliptical orbit which allows it to come in briefly to study the planet's cloud structures, but spend most of its time well away from the intense radiation near the planet. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Pod...

In today's image, we see several images of the total solar eclipse which occurred on April 8. The central page showing details of the solar corona only visible during an eclipse. The other two images show what is known as the diamond ring effect which occurs just before and after a total eclipse when only a tiny portion of the Sun is visible. My podcasts are available in video form through this Yo...

In today's image, we see the Great Carina Nebula which is a large star forming region about 7500 light years from Earth - it is much larger than the closer Orion Nebula. The bright star Eta Carinae is one expected to become a supernova at some time in the future. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You...

In today's image, we see the spiral galaxy NGC 1232. We see this in a face-on position which gives us a great view of its spiral arms. We can see the pink color of hydrogen gas excited by the ultraviolet light from hot stars as well as the blue light from the many stars that have formed recently within those spiral arms. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This P...

In today's image, we see the total solar eclipse of April 8. Also visible in the sky and shown in this image were two planets - Venus and Mercury. Two comets can also be seen including comet Pons-Brooks which was not as bright as many had hoped. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the im...

In today's image, we see a portion of the Vela Supernova Remnant. This is the remnant of a star that would have been seen to explode here on Earth over ten thousand years ago. The expanding filaments have been slightly enriched in heavier elements which will eventually form seed material for the next generation of stars. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This P...

In today's image, we see two images of M82 also known as the Cigar Galaxy. This is a starburst galaxy which is undergoing a burst of star formation due to an interaction with another nearby galaxy. Recent images from Webb are teaching us more about the central regions of they galaxy and also raising some intriguing new questions. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel...

In today's image, we see a video clip showing the end of the total solar eclipse of April 8 of this year. As the video starts, we can see a couple of prominences around the edge of the Sun. As the Sun first starts to appear, we see the effect called Baily's Beads which appear then sunlight is coming show valleys on the limb of the Moon and finally the Sun starts to emerge and overwhelms the image...

In today's image, we see multiple images of the eclipse of April 8. These are projected through the leaves of a palm tree which acts as a bunch of pinhole cameras each of which projects its own image of the eclipsed Sun on to the ground. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and...

In today's image, we see multiple images of the solar eclipse from April 8. Around the limb of the Moon, we see a number of pink solar prominences as well as glimpses of the solar surface through what are known as Bailey's Beads. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website...

In today's image, we see seven images from the solar eclipse of April 8. Starting from the upper left shortly after the Moon first started to cover the Sun, through totality where the solar corona is visible and down to the bottom right taken shortly before the Moon ceased covering any of the solar surface. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an a...

In today's image, we see two planets - one on either side of the eclipsed Sun. To the right is the planet Venus, currently visible in the morning sky just before sunrise. To the left is the planet Jupiter currently visible shortly after sunset. Normally, these cannot be seen during the day. But, when the Sun is eclipsed, the sky becomes dark enough for them to be visible. My podcasts are available...

In today's image, we see the total solar eclipse which occurred yesterday over parts of North America. The solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes in front of our Sun temporarily blocking out its light. Here we see the Sun's corona as well as the planet Venus which would otherwise not be visible. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized...

In today's image, we see images of comet Pons-Brooks as observed over nine days in March of this year. We can see the distinct changes that have occurred in the tail even over just a single day - helping us to understand how the tails of a comet like this are produced. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APO...

In today's image, we see images from the total solar eclipse of 2017. We can view the progression as the Moon covers more and more of the Sun until it is completely covered at the center allowing the solar corona to be seen. The next eclipse will be tomorrow (April 8) and will be visible over parts of North America. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel . This Podcas...