[{"id":"ee1502a4716d9e46","title":"Sh2-188: The Shrimp Nebula","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260929.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-29T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhat causes the swirl in the Shrimp Nebula?\n\nIts high speed is likely. \n\nWhat is sure is that \nSh2-188 is one of the larger \nplanetary nebulas on the night sky, \nby angular size, spanning about half the \ndiameter of the Moon. \n\nMoreover, the \nwhite-dwarf core -- leftover from the \nSun-like star \nthat shed its outer atmosphere -- is moving \nunusually fast through interstellar space, creating a \nbow shock most visible \non the upper left that is \nsimilar to \na boat plowing \nthrough water. \n\nAlthough faint, the \nShrimp Nebula \nglows also by \ncompressing and brightening gas on its leading edge. \n\nThe featured image was taken in the light of \nhydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen by a backyard telescope in \nKrakow, \nPoland and then \ndigitally adjusted to approximate \nthe nebula's \ntrue colors.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8f4997299a991d2a","title":"Cosmic Latte: The Average Color of the Universe","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260928.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-28T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhat color is the universe? \n\nMore precisely, if the\nentire sky were smeared out,\nwhat color would the final mix be? \n\nThis whimsical question \ncame up when trying to determine\nwhat stars are commonplace in nearby galaxies.\n\nThe answer, depicted here,\nis a conditionally perceived shade of\nbeige.\n\nIn computer parlance: #FFF8E7. \n\nTo determine this, astronomers computationally averaged\nthe light emitted by one of the larger samples of\ngalaxies analyzed: the 200,000\ngalaxies of the\n2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. \n\nThe resulting\ncosmic spectrum has some emission in all parts of the\nelectromagnetic spectrum, but a single perceived composite color. \n\nThis color has become much less blue over \nthe past 10 billion years,\nindicating that redder stars are becoming \nmore prevalent. \n\nIn a contest to better name the color, notable entries\nincluded skyvory, univeige, and the winner:\ncosmic latte.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"716bbde7f6c555bc","title":"Andromeda before Photoshop","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260927.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-27T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhat does the Andromeda galaxy really look like?\n\nThe \nfeatured image shows how our \nMilky Way Galaxy's closest major \ngalactic neighbor really appears in a long exposure through \nEarth's busy skies and with a digital camera that introduces normal imperfections. \n\nThe picture is a stack of 223 images, each a 300 second exposure, \ntaken from a garden observatory in \nPortugal\nduring 2019. \n\nObvious image deficiencies include bright parallel \nairplane trails, long and continuous \nsatellite trails, short \ncosmic ray streaks, and \nbad pixels. \n\nThese imperfections were actually not removed with \nPhotoshop \nspecifically, but rather \ngreatly reduced \nwith a series of computer software packages that included \nAstro Pixel Processor, DeepSkyStacker, and PixInsight. \n\nAll of this work was done not to \ndeceive you with a \ndigital fantasy \nthat has little to do with the real likeness of the \nAndromeda galaxy (M31), \nbut to minimize Earthly artifacts that have nothing \nto do with the distant galaxy and so better recreate \nwhat M31 really does look like.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"2fdcb94af92162c4","title":"Mirrored Meteor and Milky Way","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260926.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-26T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nOn August 15, this\nperseid meteor\nstreaked through night\nskies over the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos at\nLa Palma, Canary Islands, Spain.\n\nThe bright and colorful meteor trail was captured next to the central\nMilky Way,\nwhose dark interstellar dust clouds and luminous starlight\nreach above the horizon.\n\nIn the foreground of this tantalizing celestial scene is the 23 meter diameter\nmirror of the prototype\nLarge-Sized Telescope\n(LST-1).\n\nLST-1 is\nthe first telescope constructed at the\nnorthern hemisphere site of the innovative\nCherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.\n\nWith 198 hexagonal mirror segments and a\nlarge, high-efficiency, pixelized camera,\nLST-1 is designed to detect extremely brief,\natmospheric visible light flashes.\n\nLasting about a billionth of a second, the visible light\nflashes are triggered by energetic gamma-rays\nfrom cosmic sources such as\ndistant active galaxies\nand gamma-ray bursts.\n\nOf course, on that night some individual mirror segments\nof LST-1 also reflected\nthe atmospheric flash of the bright perseid meteor.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"a3cc4d2a148897e5","title":"Globular Cluster Omega Centauri","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260925.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-25T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nGlobular star cluster\nOmega Centauri\npacks about 10 million\nstars much older than the Sun into a volume some 150 light-years in\ndiameter.\n\nAlso known as NGC 5139, at a distance of 15,000 light-years\nit's the largest and brightest of 200 or so known\nglobular clusters\nthat roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy.\n\nThough most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and\ncomposition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of\ndifferent\nstellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances.\n\nIn fact,\nOmega Cen may be\nthe\nremnant\ncore of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way.\n\nWith a yellowish hue,\nOmega Centauri's red giant stars are easy to pick out in this\nsharp telescopic view. \n\nA two-decade-long exploration of the dense star cluster\nwith the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed evidence\nfor a massive black hole near the\ncenter\nof Omega Centauri.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"453875d7318043c9","title":"The Ghosts of Five Supernovas","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260924.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-24T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\n The ghosts of five supernovas haunt this extraordinary image.\n\n It was acquired at Oukaïmeden Observatory in Morocco with approximately 200 hours of observations and shows a large patch of the sky, equivalent to the area of one thousand full moons tiled together, in the constellation of Auriga (the Charioteer).\n\n From left to right, the five supernova remnants visible across the field are G181.1+9.5, G182.4+4.3, G179.0+2.6, G180.0−1.7 (Sh2-240, the Spaghetti Nebula), and G178.2−4.2.\n\n They are highlighted in the annotated image, together with open cluster M37 and the Tadpole Nebula.\n\n As each explosion expanded into space, it created a growing shell of shocked gas and delicate filamentary structures shown in red (hydrogen) and blue (oxygen), respectively. \n\n These ancient stellar explosions happened independently; they are at various distances up to about several thousands of light-years away from Earth and have estimated ages up to tens of thousands of years old.\n\n Early humans may have witnessed them as bright new stars, fading over weeks or months.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5988d283adf300f5","title":"A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260923.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-23T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Two
Explanation: \nA once-in-a-lifetime crater has appeared on the Moon! \nA comet or asteroid roughly the size of a \nhumpback whale \n(approximately 10-20 meters, 30-60 feet) crashed into the Moon sometime \nbetween April and May of 2024. The \nLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter \n(LRO), with its \nmonthly monitoring of the Moon, \ncaptured \ntoday’s images \nof the lunar surface before and after the event. The resulting crater, \nnamed after Apollo-era lunar scientist \nMcGetchin, \nis two soccer fields across. Craters of this size are only expected once \nevery 132 years! \nFollow up thermal imaging \nrevealed a \nlarge cold spot \nthat surrounds the warm crater. Surface impacts will puff up the loose lunar sediment, or \nregolith, \nmaking it less dense and harder to retain heat. This event affected an area \nmuch larger than the visible crater, \nwhich will inform humanity’s understanding of surface impacts and the evolution of the Moon’s surface. \nIt also reminds us all to be \nthankful for Earth's atmosphere.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"2c88c60e9e4bef3b","title":"Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260922.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-22T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"An
Explanation: \nThis shot captured an unexpected silhouette. Which is it? \n\nIt isn't the \nsunspots, \nthe small dark regions caused by concentrated \nmagnetic fields \nvisible around the Sun's bright disk. Sunspots typically last \nfor weeks and were expected, since these spots were seen previously. \n\nIt isn’t the \nInternational Space Station (ISS), the \nsmall dark \nstructure on the middle left. \n\nThis is because the \nfeatured picture was planned with \nsub-second timing to record the \niconic structure passing before the \nSun. \n\nIt is the \nairplane. \n\nJust as \nthis exposure was taking place in June, from \nPrasek in the \nCzech Republic, an airplane began its own miniature \npartial eclipse. \n\nThe result is this \ntriply aligned image of our Sun. \n\nThe photographer estimates that the chance of any \nrandom \nSun image containing \nsilhouettes of both a space station and an airplane, \nfrom that location, is about 30 million to one. ","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"9c753152f8b87a74","title":"Cocoon Nebula Wide Field","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260921.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-21T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhen does a nebula look like a comet? \n\nIn this crowded starfield covering over two degrees within the \nhigh-flying \nconstellation of the Swan \n(Cygnus), the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. \n\nA compact star forming region, the \ncosmic Cocoon punctuates a nebula bright in \nemission and \nreflection on the lower right, \nwith a long trail of interstellar dust clouds to the left, making the entire complex appear a bit \nlike a comet. \n\nCataloged as \nIC 5146, \nthe central bright head of the nebula spans about 10 \nlight years, while the dark \ndusty tail spans nearly 100 light years. \n\nBoth are located about 2,500 light years away. \n\nA bright star near the colorful nebula's center likely \nsupplies power \nand helps \nclear out a cavity. \n\nThe long dusty filaments of the tail, although dark in this \nvisible light image, hide \nstars in the process of \nformation.\n\nThe \nfeatured image was captured in July from \nDeath Valley, \nCalifornia, \nUSA.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"deea051b4335c5d7","title":"Analemma over the Callanish Stones","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260920.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-20T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \nIf you went outside at the same time every day and \ntook a picture that included \nthe Sun, how would the Sun's position change? \n\nA visual answer to that question is an \nanalemma, \na composite image taken from the same spot at the \nsame time over the course of a year. \n\nThe featured analemma was composed from images \ntaken every few days at noon near the village of \nCallanish in the \nOuter Hebrides in \nScotland, \nUK. \n\nIn the foreground are the \nCallanish \nStones, \na stone circle built around 2700 BC during humanity's \nBronze Age. \n\nIt is not known if the placement of the \nCallanish Stones has or had astronomical significance. \n\nThe ultimate causes for the \nfigure-8 shape of this and all analemmas are the \ntilt of the Earth axis \nand the \nellipticity of the \nEarth's orbit \naround the Sun. \n\nAt the solstices, \nthe Sun will appear at the top or bottom of an analemma.\n\nThe featured image was taken near the December solstice and so the Sun appears near the bottom. \n\nEquinoxes, however, \ncorrespond to analemma middle points -- not the \nintersection point.\n\nIn two days there will be an \nequinox (\"equal night\"), \nwhen day and night are equal over all of planet Earth.\n\nMany \ncultures celebrate a change of season at an \nequinox.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f06d106e55a5a784","title":"A Zodiacal Night","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260919.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-19T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nAlso known as the false dawn,\na luminous band of zodiacal light is captured in this dark night skyscape.\n\nThe serene view was recorded just before\nthe beginning of astronomical\ntwilight\nduring September's star party at the remote\nHanle Dark Sky Reserve, Ladakh, India, planet Earth.\n\nAt about 4,500 meters altitude, the dark sky reserve\npresents a haven\nfor hardy stargazing and astrophotography enthusiasts.\n\nWhile meteors streak through the night, bright planet Jupiter\nappears immersed in the faint zodiacal glow near the eastern horizon.\n\nFollow the zodiacal band\ntoward the zenith to find open star cluster M44\nand a yellowish tinged planet Mars near the center of the frame.\n\nIn fact,\nserendipitous\ndetections of interplanetary dust by\nNASA's Juno spacecraft suggest Mars itself is the source of dust\nthat back scatters sunlight and creates\nzodiacal\nlight in planet Earth's night.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"e24d07f1bb2558f9","title":"Messier 33: The Triangulum Galaxy","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260918.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-18T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nThe small, northern constellation\nTriangulum\nharbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, Messier 33.\n\nIts popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just\nthe Triangulum Galaxy.\n\nM33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the\nLocal\nGroup of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our\nown Milky Way.\n\nAbout\n3 million light-years from the Milky Way,\nM33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the\nAndromeda Galaxy and\nastronomers\nin these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of\neach other's grand spiral star systems.\n\nAs for the view from the Milky Way, this\nsharp telescopic image\nshows off M33's blue star clusters\nand pinkish star forming regions along\nthe galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms.\n\nIn fact, the\ncavernous NGC 604\nis the brightest star forming region,\nseen here at about the 5 o'clock position from the galaxy center.\n\nLike M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars\nhave helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for\nestablishing\nthe distance\nscale of the Universe.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"4e2d70dcbfcd02b7","title":"A Treasure Chest in the Carina Nebula","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260917.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-17T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\n This treasure chest is full of stars.\n\n The featured image was obtained with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and shows a dust pillar in the Carina Nebula inside our Galaxy, roughly 7500 light-years away.\n\n It is formed by interstellar gas and dust, and shaped by powerful stellar winds and radiation form neighboring stars like the nearby Eta Carinae stellar system which is more luminous than 5 million suns.\n\n The star formation inside the pillar is excavating its head, creating the open lid of the chest.\n \n Astronomers estimate that there are about 70 stars in a compact cluster inside the pillar.\n\n This cluster is now thought to be only around 1.3 million years old.\n\n Its bounty of young stars includes a massive star approximately 19 times as massive as the Sun.\n\n More massive stars are rarer, shine brighter and evolve faster than less massive stars.\n\n They are the shiniest jewels in the treasure chest.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"488a410d8ef2a4b4","title":"Webb's View of M64","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260916.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-16T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Hubble
Explanation: \nSometimes where \nHubble \nfinds darkness, \nWebb \nsees light. An example is today’s composite images of \nMessier 64 (M64), \na nearby \nspiral galaxy \nof many names. \nThe dark band of \ndust \npartially blocking its bright core earned it the moniker \n“the Black Eye Galaxy.” \nWebb’s Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) \nsees that dust, shown in red, as it absorbs and re-emits light from surrounding newborn stars. \nThese young stars are embedded in pink star-forming regions in the secondary Hubble-only image. \nM64’s inner and outer gas regions \ncounter-rotate, \ncreating regions of increased star formation where the two gas “currents” meet and compress. \nA merger between M64 and a smaller galaxy was likely the cause of the opposing motion of the \nouter gas. Spiral galaxies were once thought to have peaceful histories. \nM64 was key evidence that spiral galaxies, including the \nMilky Way, \ncan and do experience mergers. Webb’s view of M64 will tell astronomers about the structure, \nmotion, and composition of the galaxy’s dust and add context to the galaxy’s merger history and \nevolution.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"74a443eb05c94a9a","title":"A Daytime Eclipse: Moon Occults Venus","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260915.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-15T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThere was something behind the clouds. \n\nUpon close inspection, it was the \nMoon, \nwhich was hard to see yesterday around noon above the small village of \nCessy, \nFrance. \n\nBut soon, it was not only \nthe Moon.\n\nAs expected, a bright dot suddenly appeared from behind the Moon -- \nthe planet \nVenus far in the distance. \n\nCaptured in the single \nfeatured exposure, both appeared to show a \ncrescent phase. \n\nThe Moon's \ncrescent was quite slight -- \nwith only about 10 percent of its face illuminated by \nthe Sun.\n\nIn contrast, \nVenus's crescent was more full -- \nshowing about 25 percent illumination.\n\nVenus appeared brighter because it is nearer the Sun and because its \nclouds are more reflective than the \ndark lunar surface.\n\nAn occultation of \nVenus by the Moon is visible \nto only about 10 percent of \nthe Earth, \nbut in yesterday's event even most of that was experiencing \ndaytime.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"2d973ee996114022","title":"Where Your Elements Came From","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260914.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-14T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThe hydrogen in your body and present in every molecule of water came from the \nBig Bang. \n\nThere are no other \nappreciable sources of \nhydrogen in the universe. \n\nThe carbon in your body was made by \nnuclear fusion \nin the interior of stars, as was the \noxygen. \n\nMuch of the iron in your body was made during \nsupernovas of stars that occurred \nlong ago and far away. \n\nThe gold in your jewelry was likely made from \nneutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration \ngamma-ray bursts\nor gravitational wave events.\n\nElements like phosphorus and copper are \npresent in our bodies in only small amounts \nbut are essential to the functioning of all known life. \n\nThe featured periodic table is \ncolor coded to indicate \nhumanity's best guess as to the \nnuclear origin of all known elements. \n\nThe sites of nuclear creation \nof some \nelements, \nsuch as \ncopper, \nare not really well known and are continuing topics of observational and computational research.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"4f1d0488bc322ac2","title":"Apollo 11: Catching Some Sun","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260912.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-12T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nBright sunlight glints as long dark shadows mark this image of the\nsurface of the Moon.\n\nIt was taken on\nJuly 20, 1969,\nby Apollo 11 astronaut\nNeil Armstrong,\nthe first to walk on the lunar surface.\n\nPictured\nis the mission's lunar module, the Eagle,\nand spacesuited lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin.\n\nAldrin is unfurling a long sheet of foil also known as the\nSolar Wind Composition Experiment.\n\nExposed facing the Sun, the foil trapped particles streaming\noutward in the solar wind,\ncatching a sample of\nmaterial\nfrom the Sun itself.\n\nAlong with 22 kilograms of\nmoon rocks and lunar soil\nsamples, the solar wind collector was\nreturned for analysis\nin earthbound laboratories.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"3ac049033e8f3fcc","title":"M83: The Southern Pinwheel","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260911.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-11T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nBeautiful and bright\nspiral galaxy M83\nlies some twelve million light-years away, near the southeastern\ntip of the very long constellation\nHydra.\n\nProminent spiral arms traced by dark dust lanes and blue star\nclusters lend this galaxy its popular name, the Southern Pinwheel. \n\nStill, reddish\nstar forming regions\nthat dot this cosmic pinwheel's spiral arms\nhave suggested another nickname, the\nThousand-Ruby Galaxy.\n\nA mere 40,000 light-years across, smaller than the Milky Way,\nM83 is a member of a group of galaxies that includes active galaxy\nCentaurus A.\n\nIn fact, the core of M83 itself is bright\nat x-ray energies, showing a high\nconcentration of neutron stars and black holes left from\nan intense burst of star formation.\n\nThis sharp, groundbased telescopic view also features\nforeground Milky Way stars and distant background galaxies.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"6e1fa0bce4147549","title":"LDN 1295: The Giraffe Nebula","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260910.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-10T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\n What does this image look like to you?\n\n Many see a giraffe facing right, with neck stretched high and long legs mid-stride (but some may see a squirrel instead).\n\n The featured image shows LDN 1295, also called the Giraffe Nebula, in the constellation of the mythical queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).\n\n It is an object in the Lynds Catalogue of Dark Nebulas, compiled in 1962 by American astronomer Beverly Lynds, a pioneer for women in astronomy and astrophysics.\n\n Dark nebulas are interstellar clouds of dust and gas that block the visible light of the stars behind them.\n\n These nebulas are often faint and challenging targets for astrophotographers.\n\n Why do we see animal shapes and faces in nebulas, clouds, and pretty much everywhere?\n\n It is due to pareidolia, our tendency to look for familiar patterns.\n\n Pareidolia may provide animals with an evolutionary advantage, for example in identifying (and avoiding) predators.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8683ab309e722c9c","title":"Hubble: Decagon Around Saturn's South Pole","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260908.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-08T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhy are Saturn’s poles geometric?\n\nSaturn’s \nNorth Pole has been known to be surrounded by a \nhexagonal (6 sides) cloud since \ndiscovery in 1987 in data taken by NASA’s \nVoyager spacecrafts, \nwhich quickly flew past the \nringed world in the early 1980s. \n\nNow, recent observations of Saturn by the \nHubble Space Telescope \nreveal a slightly different geometric cloud pattern \naround the South Pole: a \ndecagon (10 \nsides). \n\nThe geometric boundaries are \npossibly caused \nby waves when the fast-moving gas away from the \npoles interacts with slower-moving gas closer to the poles. \n\nIn the \nfeatured image composite by the Hubble taken last year, the \nSouth Pole of Saturn \nis marked by an X and surrounded by bands of circulating clouds. \n\nThe decagon appears most prominent in the dark inner regions. \n\nThe northern hexagon has proven stable for over 40 years, while the stability of the southern decagon will surely remain a \ntopic of research.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"042e5e0b9324550e","title":"The Pelican Nebula in Gas, Dust, and Stars","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260907.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-07T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThe Pelican Nebula is slowly being transformed. \n\nIC 5070 (an official designation) is divided from the larger \nNorth America Nebula by a \nmolecular cloud filled with dark \ndust. \n\nThe deep featured picture from \nUtah, \nUSA incorporates 25 hours \nof exposure and brings out great details of this \nfilamentary dust.\n\nThe \nPelican Nebula \nreceives much study because it is a particularly active mix of \nstar formation \nand evolving gas clouds. \n\nThe light from young energetic stars is slowly transforming \nthe cold gas to hot gas, \nwith the advancing boundary \nbetween the two, known as an \nionization front, \nvisible in bright orange on the upper right.\n\nParticularly dense \ntentacles of cold gas remain. \n\nMillions of years from now, the \nPelican Nebula, \nbounded by dark nebula \nLDN 935, might no longer be known as the Pelican, \nas the balance and placement of stars and gas \nwill surely leave something that appears \ncompletely different.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"7e4833fcd9704695","title":"Pluto in Enhanced Color","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260906.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-06T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \nPluto is more colorful than we can see.\n\nColor data and high-resolution images of our Solar System's most famous \ndwarf planet, \ntaken by the robotic \nNew Horizons spacecraft during its \nflyby in 2015 July, \nhave been digitally combined to give an \nenhanced-color view of this \nancient world sporting an unexpectedly young surface.\n\nThe featured enhanced color image is not only \nesthetically pretty but scientifically useful, \nmaking surface regions of differing chemical composition visually distinct.\n\nFor example, the light-colored heart-shaped \nTombaugh Regio on the lower right is clearly shown here \nto be divisible into two regions that are \ngeologically\ndifferent, with the leftmost lobe,\nSputnik Planitia, also appearing unusually smooth.\n\nAfter Pluto, New Horizons continued on, shooting \npast asteroid Arrokoth in 2019 with enough\nspeed to escape our \nSolar \nSystem completely.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8d9725d4751e15cd","title":"Chasing the Moon's Shadow","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260905.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-05T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nChasing the shadow\nof a New Moon, NASA’s\nWB-57F\nhigh altitude research aircraft\ntook to the skies off the coast of Iceland on August 12 to observe a\ntotal solar eclipse.\n\nAt 50,000 feet the aircraft was piloted along the precisely\ndetermined path of totality to maximize its time in the Moon’s shadow.\n\nA suite of high-resolution cameras on board was able to\nrecord eclipse data\nfrom above the clouds, dust,\nand atmospheric water vapor that interfere\nwith observations made closer to the ground.\n\nThis view from the cockpit, taken from an inflight video, captures the\nsolar corona emerging\nat the beginning of totality.\n\nThe sky appears dark in the shadow of the Moon.\n\nVenus is shining left of center in the video frame, while\nJupiter and Mercury are just visible to the right of the eclipsed Sun.\n\nBut the sky is bright along the distant horizon below,\nbeyond the reach of the Moon's shadow.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"bb6059155c086c33","title":"Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260904.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-04T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nNā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola,\nis the Hawaiian name given to this\nimage of a pair of spiral galaxies locked in\na mutual gravitational embrace.\n\nSome 200 million light-years\ndistant toward the high flying constellation Pegasus\ntheir spectacular, galactic scale merger is captured in sharp detail in\nthe image from the 8.1 meter\nGemini North\ntelescope on Maunakea, Hawai‘i.\n\nThe galaxy pair,\nknown as NGC 7253 and Arp 278,\nwas chosen as a target, researched, and given a\nHawaiian name by high school students\nin the joint Gemini Observatory and\nUniversity of Hawaiʻi\nProject Hōkūlani internship program. \n\nThe name translates to\n\"The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life\".\n\nThat's both culturally and astronomically appropriate for\ngalaxy collisions\nthat trigger a cosmic\nmaelstrom of star formation\nfrom galactic reservoirs of elemental building blocks of life.\n\nThese merging galaxies\nare found within a region of Pegasus identified\nas the Hawaiian navigational constellation\nKa Lupe o Kawelo.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"6154f46033073053","title":"The Eclipse and the Stork","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260903.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-03T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\n How do animals react to a total solar eclipse?\n\n The featured image shows a stork roosting on her nest in Poland at a partial phase of the recent total solar eclipse.\n\n If you are lucky enough to experience a total eclipse somewhere quiet and close to nature, you may be able to notice unusual daytime animal behaviors.\n \n During totality, you may hear nighttime sounds like crickets and frogs and see fireflies.\n\n In the dark, most birds are quiet.\n\n Thinking that it is time to go to bed, ducks and other waterfowl prepare to sleep on one leg, with their heads turned around and their beaks tucked into their back feathers (they don't really sleep with their heads tucked under one wing).\n\n When sunlight returns at the end of totality, songbirds greet the new \"morning\" with their dawn songs.\n\n The crickets and frogs go quiet again.\n\n Animals and people resume their lives, only briefly disturbed by the chance alignment of our Sun and Moon.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"17c64f1e35d0692e","title":"Solar Eclipses and Culture","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260902.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-02T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \nPretend you have never heard of a solar eclipse. The Sun’s behavior has been predictable \nyour whole life. One day, you witness the sky transform as it does in \ntoday’s spliced image \nspanning two hours of \nthe August 12, 2026 solar eclipse. \nThe Sun disappears, leaving behind a bright, empty ring. What would you think had happened? \nHumans have interpreted eclipses in countless ways throughout \nhistory, \nembedding \nbeliefs \nabout connection, rebirth, or danger into culture. “Eclipse” comes from the Greek word \n“ékleipsis” \nmeaning “abandonment”. In ancient Greece, the solar eclipse marked the anger of the gods and \nthe Sun abandoning humanity. To \nthe Diné people, \nthis celestial alignment is a time of renewal. Out of respect and to avoid the danger of sunlight, \nthe Diné stay inside until the Sun and Moon separate. \nThe Batammariba people of Benin and Togo \nbelieve that the Sun and Moon fight during an eclipse, so the community encourages peace among themselves. Eclipses are an example of the longstanding connection between astronomy and society.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"d2a54853ae8f3fb4","title":"A Plane Lunar Eclipse","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260901.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-01T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \nDid you need to be on the right side of this airplane to see this eclipse?\n\nNo. \n\nLunar eclipses are routinely seen from the \nhalf of the Earth facing the Moon \nwhen the eclipse occurs, \nmaking them some of the most commonly witnessed astronomical events.\n\nYou don't even need any \nspecial equipment to see one -- just your \nunaided eyes. \n\nLunar eclipses are also some of the \nmost \nphotographed \nastronomical \nevents because, \nunlike with a solar eclipse, \nyour eyes and camera do not have to look toward the bright \nSun.\n\nHowever, considering the \nfeatured image taken \nlast week from \nPortugal, if you were on the left side of \nthat airplane during takeoff, \nyou might have trouble seeing it -- at first.\n\nBut even then, \nafter takeoff, since \nlunar eclipses typically last for hours, \nyou might soon be able to safely cross the aisle(s) to see it.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"ebc627b41c690e85","title":"M74: A Grand Design Spiral","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260830.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-30T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nIf not the most grand, then this \nspiral galaxy is at least one of the most photogenic. \n\nAn island universe of about 100 billion stars, \n32 million light-years away toward the \nconstellation Pisces, \nM74 presents a \ngorgeous face-on view. \n\nClassified as \nan Sc galaxy, the\ngrand design of M74's graceful spiral arms are traced by bright \nblue star clusters and dark \ncosmic dust lanes. \n\nConstructed from archival images, this \nsharp composite is from the \nHubble Space Telescope. \n\nSpanning about 30,000 \nlight-years \nacross the face of \nM74, it includes exposures recording\n emission from hydrogen atoms, highlighting \nthe reddish glow of the galaxy's large \nstar-forming regions.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"fc1c28d83379ff61","title":"Eclipse Pair","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260829.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-29T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nEclipses tend to come in pairs.\n\nTwice a year, during an eclipse season that lasts\nabout 34 days, Sun, Moon, and Earth can nearly align.\n\nThen the new and full\nphases of the Moon,\nseparated by just over 14 days, create a solar and a lunar eclipse.\n\nBut only rarely is the alignment at both new moon and full moon\nduring a single eclipse season close enough\nto produce a pair with both total solar and lunar eclipses.\n\nMore often, partial eclipses are part of any eclipse season.\n\nBut, the last eclipse season of 2026 did produce\nthis fortnight-separated pairing of a\ntotal solar eclipse\non August 12 (top)\nand an almost\ntotal lunar eclipse on the night of August 27/28.\n\nAt New Moon, the solar eclipse was captured\nat Peñafiel, Spain\nnear the begining of totality in\nthis HDR composite image,\nrevealing a flash of\nBailey's beads\nand a\ngolden solar corona.\n\nAt the following Full Moon,\nthe deep partial lunar eclipse\nwas recorded from Sèvres, France.\n\nAlso an HDR composite, the image shows\nthis partial eclipse at closer\nto half its 93 percent maximum phase, so\nabout half the visible lunar disk appears darkened and reddened\nwithin Earth's umbral shadow.\n\nThe coming\neclipse season\nwill see an annular solar eclipse on 2027 February 6\npaired with a penumbral lunar eclipse on February 20/21.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"54a5294dd65bb756","title":"The Sky Turns Above Paranal","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260828.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-28T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nAt the latitude of ESO's\nParanal Observatory\nin Chile, about 25 degrees south,\nEarth's\nrotation moves the planet's surface eastward at over 1,500 kilometers per hour.\n\nAnd while that's faster than the\nspeed of sound\nat sea level, the motion is\nimperceptible.\n\nStill, that motion can be revealed in the\napparent rotation of the\nnight sky by\nphotographing\nstar trails.\n\nThis star trail image was composed from a digital stack of 300\nconsecutive 25-second exposures made with a camera\nfixed to a tripod to trace the star trail arcs.\n\nThe graceful arcs are concentric and centered at the south\ncelestial pole,\nthe southern hemisphere extension of Earth's axis of rotation into space.\n\nOne of the observatory's operating 1.8 meter auxiliary telescopes,\nAT 3,\nappears beneath the south celestial pole,\nfaintly illuminated in the foreground of this\nwell-planned scene from a rotating planet.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"40cca6b507b3e17a","title":"Colorful Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260827.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-27T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\n What a sight to behold, when a night sky became filled with colors that appeared to rain over the Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland.\n \n This image was taken in a single 5 second exposure by the photographer in April 2025.\n\n Seeing an aurora is on many people's bucket lists.\n\n But it is not easy.\n\n It requires high solar activity, dark and clear skies, and usually a viewing location at high latitude.\n\n That makes the northern lights more easily seen than the corresponding southern lights, simply because there is less landmass in the Southern Hemisphere, especially around the Antarctic Circle.\n\n Auroras are caused by charged particles from the solar wind that are captured by the Earth's magnetosphere and guided by the magnetic field to a region close to one of the poles, where they collide with gas particles in the atmosphere.\n\n Different colors indicate interactions with different gases at different altitudes, like oxygen (red and green) and nitrogen (blue and pink).","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f9ebe2307117f844","title":"JWST Images The Lion's Head Nebula","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260826.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-26T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nAre we looking at the future of our \nSun? \nThe \nJames Webb Space Telescope \ncaptured \ntoday’s composite image \nof the Lion’s Head Nebula \n(NGC 2392) \nwith its \nNIRCam and \nMIRI \ninstruments. The Lion’s Head Nebula is the \nremnant of a Sun-like star. \nThis star was unable to sustain the \nnuclear fusion \nin its core needed to remain stable. It began to shed layers of gas and dust into space, \nforming this \nplanetary nebula. \nA hot stellar core, called a \nwhite dwarf, \nis left behind within the lion’s nose. Do not \nboop \nthis nose! Intense radiation from the white dwarf is \nionizing \nthe gas as it expands, creating the irregular bubble that makes up the lion’s face. \nDust clumps \nthat have survived the white dwarf’s radiation and a cloud of ionized gas make up the lion’s mane. This \nnew and more detailed view \nof the nebula will help humanity learn more about how the gas and dust interact with each other and the white dwarf radiation.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"dc2f9ff1e7375459","title":"Earth's Shadow Visualized with Lunar Eclipses","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260825.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-25T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Many
Explanation: \nWhat’s creating this giant hole in space?\n\nThis is not a \nblack hole — it’s a shadow. \n\nIt’s Earth’s shadow. \n\nSince at least the time of \nAristotle, \npeople have noted that \nEarth's dark shadow on the \nMoon during a partial \nlunar eclipse is circular -- although never a \nwhole circle. \n\nUsing modern digital technology, though, \nthe images of multiple \nlunar eclipses can be combined to show Earth's complete shadow. \n\nThe featured image compilation by a perseistent astrophotographer\nis constructed from 22 years of lunar eclipses. \n\nThe Moon is not \neclipsed every month \n(moon-th) because the \nMoon's orbit is \nslightly tilted relative to Earth's orbit. \n\nClose inspection of some lunar eclipse images shows a \nfaint \nblue \nband where \n\nEarth’s atmosphere filters out more red sunlight than blue. \n\nLater this week, a \nnew lunar eclipse will occur and will be \nbest visible in parts of North and South America, Europe, and Africa.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f43f4ee025428d0a","title":"Comet 220P in Outburst","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260824.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-24T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nComet 220P is unexpectedly bright.\n\nNormally, periodic \nComet 220P/McNaught is so dim that to see it requires a telescope.\n\nTwo surprising outbursts this year, however, have made it about 20,000 times brighter than usual, so that it is now visible with binoculars and long-duration \ncamera exposures.\n\nAs expected, Comet 220P continues to orbit the \nSun between \nMars and \nJupiter with a period of over 5 years. \n\nThe \nfeatured long duration exposure, taken 10 days ago from \nSouth Africa, shows the \ncomet's \nbright \ngreen head and short \ndust tail. \n\nReasons for \nComet 220P's impressive outbursts are unknown but could be \ncaused by the \nrelease of built-up subsurface gas or \ncomet quakes. \n\nComet 220P will pass about \none Earth-Sun distance from the \nEarth in October, \nafter which it is expected to \nfade quickly \nas it begins its return to the far part of its orbit.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8a678bd1a944f9e3","title":"Cassini Approaches Saturn","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260823.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-23T11:00:00+00:00","content":"
Explanation: \nWhat would it look like to approach the grand planet Saturn?\n\nOne doesn't have to just imagine -- the\nCassini spacecraft did just this in 2004, \nrecording thousands of images along the way, and\nhundreds of thousands more since entering orbit.\n\nSome of Cassini's early images have been digitally tweaked, cropped, and compiled into the\nfeatured inspiring video \nwhich is part of a larger \nIMAX movie project named\nIn Saturn's Rings. \n\nIn the concluding sequence, \nSaturn \nlooms increasingly large on approach as\ncloudy Titan swoops below.\n\nWith Saturn \nwhirling around in the background, \nCassini is next depicted flying over\nMimas, with large\nHerschel Crater clearly visible.\n\nSaturn's majestic rings then take over the show as Cassini crosses Saturn's\nthin ring plane.\n\nDark shadows of the ring appear on\nSaturn itself.\n\nFinally, the enigmatic ice-geyser moon\nEnceladus appears in the\ndistance and then is approached just as the video clip ends.\n\nAfter more than a decade of exploration and discovery, \nthe Cassini spacecraft ran low on fuel in 2017 was directed to \nenter Saturn's atmosphere, \nwhere it surely melted.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"88d38db70be5e377","title":"Mostly Perseids","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260822.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-22T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nRecorded the night of August 12-13,\nimages from four dedicated\nmeteor-monitoring\ncameras at an\nastronomical observatory in Czechia were aligned and combined\nto create this all-night, all-sky view.\n\nOn that night,\nthe total count came to 1,706 meteors.\n\nAnd since that coincided with the peak activity of the\n2026 Perseid Meteor Shower,\nmost are perseids.\n\nTheir overwhelming numbers make them easy to spot.\n\nQuite convincingly, perseid trails\nall trace back to a single radiant on the sky at the upper right,\na region in the annual shower's\neponymous constellation Perseus.\n\nBut meteors belonging to other much less active showers\ncan also revealed by finding their radiants too.\n\nFor example, seen crossing the perseid trails are meteors\nfrom a shower whose radiant lies in Cygnus,\nknown as Kappa Cygnids.\n\nThe\nantihelion complex,\na general region near Aquarius and opposite the Sun in the sky, is also\nidentifiable as a weak source for meteors.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"9394d7f723ee261b","title":"The Elephant's Trunk in Cepheus","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260820.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-20T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nLike an illustration in a galactic\nJust So Story,\nthe Elephant's Trunk Nebula winds through\nthe emission region and young star cluster complex IC 1396,\nin the high and far off constellation\nof Cepheus.\n\nAlso known as vdB 142, this\ncosmic elephant's trunk\nis over 20 light-years long.\n\nThe detailed telescopic\nview features the bright swept-back\nridges and pockets of cool\ninterstellar\ndust and gas that abound in the region.\n\nBut the\ndark, tendril-shaped clouds\ncontain the raw material for star formation and hide\nprotostars within.\n\nNearly 3,000 light-years\ndistant, the relatively faint\nIC 1396 complex\ncovers a large region on the sky, spanning over 5 degrees.\n\nTop to bottom\nthis proboscidean-like rendition reaches\nacross an almost 1 degree wide field of view, though.\n\nThat's a little less than the angular size of 2 full moons.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"88d55c4491937869","title":"Perseids from Perseus","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260818.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-18T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThis was a good year for the \nPerseids meteor shower. \n\nA key reason was \nthe Moon was absent from lighting up \nEarth's night sky so that \nmore meteors were visible than usual. \n\nWhere was the Moon? \n\nIt was busy \nvisiting the Sun. \n\nNear the Perseids peak, the Moon moved directly in front of the Sun and created a total \nsolar eclipse visible from \nGreenland and \nSpain.\n\nThe Perseids occur when the Earth collides with a \nstream of Sun-orbiting debris cast off by \nComet Swift-Tuttle.\n\nPerseid meteors, although typically only the size of a \nsand grain, \ntend to be fast and bright because Swift-Tuttle's debris orbits \nthe Sun in a direction partly opposite Earth's orbital motion.\n\nIn the \nfeatured image compilation, accumulated over several nights from \nJizerka in the \nCzech Republic, the Perseids meteor streaks can be traced back to a single location on the sky -- its \nradiant in \nPerseus.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"fea1969ab572975e","title":"A Golden Corona Eclipse","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260817.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-17T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThis total solar eclipse appeared not only poetically beautiful but scientifically interesting. \n\nUsually the \nsolar corona appears white, and to \nsome observers the corona of last week's total solar eclipse did appear \nthis pearly color. \n\nBut this time, totality observers in Spain saw a corona that appeared unusually golden. \n\nFor one reason, from \nSpain, \nthe totality occurred when the setting Sun was near the horizon. \n\nThat low, sunlight travels through a large amount of \nair which scatters out blue light.\n\nAn unusual amount of \nsmoke in the air from nearby \nforest fires \nacted as a second filter, \nfurther scattering the \nremaining blue tones and deepening the already gold-dominated \nlight.\n\nThe HDR-processed, multiple-exposure \nfeatured image was captured from \nBenavente, \nSpain last week. \n\nOne thing that did not appear golden was a \nhydrogen-glowing \nprominence that hovered over the \nSun's left edge -- \nits original \nbright pink color survived.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"b9c2e281aedb05fd","title":"Milky Way over Yellowstone","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260816.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-16T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nThe Milky Way was not created by an evaporating lake. \n\nThe colorful pool of water, about 10 meters across, is known as \nSilex Spring and is located in \nYellowstone National Park in \nWyoming, USA. \n\nIlluminated artificially, the colors are caused by layers of \nbacteria that grow in the \nhot spring. \n\nSteam rises off \nthe spring, heated by underground \nmagma associated with the \nYellowstone Hotspot. \n\nUnrelated and far in the distance, the \ncentral band of our \nMilky Way Galaxy arches high overhead, a band lit by billions of stars. \n\nThe picture features a 16-image panorama taken in 2014. \n\nIf the \nYellowstone Hotspot \ncauses another supervolcanic eruption \nas it did about \n640,000 years ago, a \nlarge part of North America would be affected.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5ee1934906ceebca","title":"Bright Perseids from Sweden","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260815.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-15T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nKnown for its bright and fast meteors, the annual\nPerseid Meteor Shower\ncomes to\nplanet Earth's skies from\na radiant in the heroic constellation Perseus.\n\nThe popular northern summer celestial spectacle is created\nas grains of dust cast off\nalong the orbit\nof periodic comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle\nvaporize\nin Earth's dense atmosphere, tracing brief, but beautiful\nstreaks through the night.\n\nTaken near the shower's peak of activity\non August 12, this composite image\nrecorded two bright perseid meteors and one meteor's\nwatery reflection from a location\nnear the coastal village of Grisslehamn, Sweden. \n\nAlmost as bright as Altair, brightest star on the scene,\nthe meteors appear along with the faint, diffuse\nbackground of the Milky Way.\n\nThis year, the shower's peak activity coincided with a New Moon,\nso perseid meteor flashes were undiminished by\nbright moonlight.\n\nAnd for many skywatchers, this night of bright perseid meteors\nfollowed their viewing\nof the silhouette of the New Moon\nin a much anticipated\nsolar eclipse.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"a8ee893d7aa79131","title":"Total Solar Eclipse from Greenland","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260814.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-14T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nOn August 12,\nthe Moon's shadow reached out to touch our fair planet.\n\nBeginning in the Arctic Ocean, it swept along a narrow track that\nled the dark lunar umbra across parts of\nGreenland, Iceland, the Atlantic, Portugal, and\nnorthern Spain.\n\nAnd for a moment,\ndenizens of Earth\nwho found themselves with clear skies under the shadow of the Moon\ncould witness a total solar eclipse.\n\nAfter dodging the weather by sea and making a landing along\nRype Fjord on the Greenland east coast\n(at 71.07055N, 27.71252W),\nthis hard-won snapshot was captured at 17:33:26 UTC.\n\nThat's near the initial reach of clearing skies along\nthe path of totality,\nso the image is likely one of the first unobstructed views of the\ntotally eclipsed Sun.\n\nThrough a break in the clouds, the stunning photo also\nrecords one of this eclipse's\ntransient diamond rings\nand the\nmagnificent solar corona\nemerging near the moment totality began.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"1ffe44f0984069b6","title":"Total Solar Eclipse Over Spain","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260813.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-13T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \nOn August 12th, 2026, the Moon \ntotally eclipsed \nthe Sun and \ncast its shadow \nacross Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal. \nToday’s image \nfeatures two \ntotal solar eclipses \nviewed from \nZaragoza, Spain, \none over the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar and the other reflecting \nin the Ebro River. For a few moments, Spain saw its first major total solar eclipse \nsince 1905. Those witnessing totality may experience a chill in the air, the \nquieting of birds, the confused chirps of insects, and the shared awe of many. It’s \nthe corona’s \ntime to shine as the Sun’s bright disk is blocked by the Moon. Among other \nreasons to study eclipses, \nthey help scientists understand why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface. \nEnthusiastic citizens \ncan contribute to these studies by recording how wildlife responds, imaging the corona, \nand monitoring air temperature and clouds.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"98529f4145e6cd36","title":"Perseids Over a little Planet","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260812.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-12T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n \n\n It looks like a view from the Little Prince's planet.\n\n The featured image is a throwback to the 2024 Perseid meteor shower, surrounded in this projection by the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland.\n\n Visible in the sky is the arch of the Milky Way, along with several nebulas in red and over a hundred meteors pointing to the radiant.\n \n The Perseids are easily visible and quite popular in the Northern Hemisphere summer. (Watching meteor showers in the winter is less convenient for a good reason).\n \n This year they are expected to offer an even more dazzling spectacle than usual, because the peak coincides with a new moon.\n\n The 2026 Perseid meteor shower will peak tonight with as many as 50-100 meteors per hour, when the Earth's path crosses through debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle.\n\n Typically, the best times for seeing the meteors are between midnight and pre-dawn.\n\n You won't need binoculars to see the meteors, but a lawn chair and a dark sky location help.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"35859e40890edb9b","title":"Six Moons of Saturn","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260811.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-11T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nHow many moons does Saturn have?\n\nWhile the total will likely continue to grow,\nas of June 2026 the ringed gas giant had\n293 confirmed moons.\n\nThat's easily more\nthan any other planet\nof the Solar System, including ruling gas giant\nJupiter with a mere 115 confirmed moons.\n\nMost of Saturn's known moons are small, irregular satellites.\n\nMany are only few kilometers to a fraction of a kilometer across and\ngrouped in\ntilted outer orbits.\n\nSix of its largest satellites can be seen here, though,\nin this sharp telescopic\nSaturnian family portrait\ntaken on August 5.\n\nLarger than Earth's Moon and even slightly larger than\ninner planet Mercury,\nTitan,\nwith a diameter of 5,150 kilometers, is at lower right.\n\nYou can also spot icy major moons\nMimas,\nTethys,\nEnceladus,\nDione, and\nRhea in the frame.\n\nSaturn's first known natural satellite, Titan was\ndiscovered in 1655 by\nDutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens.\n\nDuring the space age Voyager and\nCassini discoveries\nhave added to the\nswelling ranks\nof Saturnian moons.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"fe18886091fa3666","title":"Three Galaxy Pairs","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260810.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-10T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nEach of these pairs of galaxies is different. \n\nThe two \ngalaxies at the top are likely \nnot interacting, at least presently. \n\nHowever, the top galaxy with the blue stripe, \nNGC 4650A, is a \npolar ring galaxy and may be the result of a past \ngalaxy collision.\n\nThe two galaxies in the middle of the \nfeatured image appear like they could be \ninteracting gravitationally -- but their \nrelative speeds make this unlikely. \n\nOf these two, the larger galaxy, \nNGC 4650, is a \nspiral galaxy with a \nbright bar of stars across its center. \n\nThe two galaxies at the bottom are \nactively interacting. \n\nPossibly in a billion years or so, NGC 4622A and NGC 4622B will \nmerge and become one single galaxy.\n\nAll of these galaxies are likely members of the larger \nCentaurus Galaxy Cluster.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"03ebe1fe17e73cfc","title":"Contemplating the Sun","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260809.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-09T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nHave you contemplated your home star recently? \n\nFeatured here, a \nSun partially eclipsed on the top left by the Moon \nis also seen eclipsed by \nearthlings contemplating the eclipse below. \n\nThis \nspectacular menagerie of silhouettes was taken in 2012 from the \nGlen Canyon National Recreation Area near \nPage, \nArizona, \nUSA, \nwhere park rangers and astronomers expounded on the \nunusual event \nto interested gatherers. \n\nAlso, faintly visible on the Sun's disk, \njust to the lower right of the dark Moon's disk, is a \ngroup of sunspots. \n\nA new solar eclipse will occur this week and give many people in \nnorthern North America, Europe, and northwestern Africa \na new chance to contemplate a \npartially eclipsed Sun.\n\nA thin swath of \nEarth through \nGreenland and Spain \nwill further experience a \ntotal solar eclipse.\n\nAn open question is whether any \nmeteors from the peaking \nPerseids will be visible during totality.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5cf378c1de011ecd","title":"A Messier Moment for Tempel 2","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260808.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-08T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nWhich of these is\nnot a comet?\n\nYou guessed it -\nthe one on the right is a globular star cluster.\n\nThe diffuse greenish coma of periodic comet\n10P/Tempel 2\nis at left in the frame.\n\nIn fact the globular star cluster is Messier 30,\nalso known as M30, or the 30th entry in astronomer\nCharles Messier's\ncatalog of things which are not comets.\n\nThe well-known 18th century astronomer\nkept a list of objects he observed, now his famous Messier\nCatalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters,\nwhich did not move from night to night against\nthe background stars and so were not the comets he was hunting for.\n\nSo the famous comet hunter would get the correct answer too, even\nthough his telescope would show both 10P/Tempel 2 and distant\nstar cluster as similar looking\nfaint and fuzzy objects in his field of view.\n\nRecorded on July 29, this modern telescopic image\ncaptures periodic comet Tempel 2\nas it briefly swept close on the sky to M30.\n\nWhile the periodic comet's faint, narrow,\norbital dust trail seems to pierce\nthe globular star cluster, Tempel 2 was a mere 3.5 light-minutes away.\n\nMessier 30\nis some 28,000 light-years distant.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"a0c3c2c054b240cb","title":"Rubin's COSMOS field","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260807.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-07T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n \n There are more than half a million galaxies in the central panel of this image from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.\n\n This is the COSMOS field, a patch of sky several times larger than the full moon, first observed by Hubble.\n\n It has also been observed by Webb and other telescopes because it contains comparatively few bright stars from our own galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other galaxies outside the Milky Way.\n\n The outer panels, numbered 1-10, show zoomed-in views of the corresponding small regions highlighted in the central panel.\n\n The variety of galaxy shapes and sizes is astonishing.\n\n Some of them are so far away that their light has traveled for billions of years before reaching Earth.\n\n Rubin will come back every couple of days to the COSMOS field as part of its ten-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time.\n\n It will allow a dynamic view of the COSMOS field and how the sky changes over time.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"20e0a53557a3274f","title":"New Sharpest Image of the Sun Uncovers Instability","link":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260806.html","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-08-06T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \nWhat does the new sharpest image of our Sun show?\n\nInstability.\n\nTo be clear, a certain kind of interactive process called the \nKelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI).\n\nThis instability can create \nwaves and swirls when two streams flow past each other -- \nin this case variable streams of \nsolar magnetic plasma.\n\nLong hypothesized to occur on the \nSun's surface, \nKHI streaks and swirls were confirmed in \njust-released dramatic high-resolution \nimages taken recently by the \nInouye Solar \nTelescope in \nHawaii, \nUSA. \n\nThe \nfeatured false-yellow image, actually taken in deep blue, \nis the highest resolution image yet of \nthe Sun in \nvisible light.\n\nIt spans about the radius of \nthe Earth, but its finest details are city sized. \n\nVisible are several smooth tops of \nchanging solar granules, while the edges of the flower-like \nstructures have been found to harbor multiple \nKHI swirls. \n\nFuture research may investigate how the KHI helps move energy, \nmagnetic fields, and may even heat the surrounding \nsolar corona.","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}}]