[{"id":"1835ad105f0f3370","title":"NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-13-ngc-206-and-the-star-clouds-of-andromeda/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-13T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Close
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: The large stellar association cataloged as NGC 206 is nestled within the dusty arms of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy along with the galaxy's pinkish star-forming regions. Also known as M31, the spiral galaxy is a mere 2.5 million light-years away. NGC 206 is found at the center of this sharp and detailed close-up of the southwestern extent of Andromeda's disk. The bright, blue stars of NGC 206 indicate its youth. In fact, its youngest massive stars are less than 10 million years old. Much larger than the open or galactic clusters of young stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 206 spans about 4,000 light-years. That's comparable in size to the giant stellar nurseries NGC 604 in nearby spiral M33 and the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"022f80c668a78719","title":"Moon, Venus and Spica Meet","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-12-moon-venus-and-spica-meet/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-12T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Not all those who wander are lost. A night sky example is that planets wander, and in fact the very word \"planet\" comes from \"wandering star\" in Greek. As planets shift relative to fixed stars, they may appear from our perspective to get closer to other astronomical objects. Such meetings are called conjunctions. They don't happen by chance, but follow the precise laws of celestial mechanics. This peaceful image, captured in Poland, shows the crescent Moon above the Tatra Mountains, and bright Venus close by, a little lower in the horizon. The bright star to the left of Venus is Spica in the constellation of Virgo, the Maiden. Spica is one of the brightest stars in the sky, only about 250 light-years away. It was found in 1890 that Spica is a binary star: two massive blue stars orbiting each other every 4 days. But earlier this year it was reported that Spica, the current companion of wandering Venus, is actually a triple system.

Tomorrow's picture: what's next?","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f922d7850c6ebb71","title":"NGC 4449: Small Galaxy, Big Impact","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-11-ngc-4449-small-galaxy-big-impact/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-11T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Don’t judge a galaxy by its size. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is about 100,000 light years across. This huge expanse of space contains hundreds of billions of stars! The smallest galaxies, called dwarf galaxies, are about 1/10th the size of the Milky Way and only contain a few billion stars. They are also the most common type of galaxy in the whole universe. Today’s image shows one such dwarf galaxy, NGC 4449, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 4449 and similar dwarf galaxies are missing more oxygen than models predict. This suggests their stellar winds and supernovae are surprisingly effective at blowing away oxygen and other heavy elements. Turns out these tiny galaxies may play a big role in spreading heavy elements — the building blocks of stars, planets, and life — throughout the universe!

Tomorrow's picture: a date in Poland","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"e109edb5c2242fec","title":"Saturn Behind the Moon","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-10-saturn-behind-the-moon/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-10T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Sometimes Saturn disappears. It doesn't really go away, of course -- it just disappears from our view when Earth's Moon moves in front. Such a Saturnian eclipse, more formally called an occultation, was visible in early 2025 along a small swath of Earth -- from Greenland through central Europe and into northern Africa. The featured image is a digital fusion of three images, the first of just Saturn before it disappeared, and then two more of the Moon with different exposure lengths. The images were taken from Sardinia, Italy, after sunset. The bright dot near Saturn is not a moon of Saturn, but rather the star 85 Aquarii, which is further behind Saturn than Saturn is behind the Moon. The next time the Moon moves in front of Saturn, as visible from some place on Earth, will be in 2031. 

Tomorrow's picture: small but mighty","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"1279b22efac16a91","title":"Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-9-rigel-and-the-witch-head-nebula/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-09T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Does the blue nebula look like the head of a witch? The nebula is known popularly as the Witch Head Nebula because, it is said, the nebula's shape resembles a Halloween-style caricature of a witch's head. Exactly how, though, can be a topic of imaginative speculation. What is clear is that IC 2118 is about 50 light-years across and made of gas and dust that points to -- because it has been partly eroded by -- the nearby star Rigel. One of the brighter stars in the constellation Orion, Rigel lies just below the center of the featured image. The blue color of the Witch Head Nebula and is caused not only by Rigel's intense blue starlight but also because the dust grains scatter blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers in planet Earth's atmosphere are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen.

Tomorrow's picture: suddenly Saturn","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5b70737dbe9cf74d","title":"Major Fireball Meteor","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-8-major-fireball-meteor/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-08T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: The sky glows with soft pinkish colors of fading twilight in this serendipitous mountaintop vista. Taken in subfreezing temperatures, the thoughtfully composed photo shows snowy, rugged peaks seen from a mountain pass on 2017 November 14. Below lies the village of La Villa, Alta Badia in Italy's Dolomite Alps. Above the nestled village lights, the constellation Ursa Major hangs over the northern horizon. But most stunning is the intense fireball meteor. It was captured during the camera's exposure by chance as it flashed east to west across the northern horizon, under Ursa Major's familiar Big Dipper asterism. Sightings of this major fireball meteor were widely reported in European skies, making it one of the most reported fireball events ever for planet Earth's American Meteor Society and the International Meteor Organization. The meteor's measured track over Germany is consistent with its origin near the active radiant of November's Northern Taurid Meteor Shower, a shower associated with dust from Encke's comet.

Tomorrow's picture: witch sky?","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"4ee39681017bc14f","title":"De Gerlache-Kocher Massif","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-7-de-gerlache-kocher-massif/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-07T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Mountains
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: De Gerlache-Kocher massif looms on the visible horizon in this close-up of the edge of the Moon. The mountainous formation rises about 4 kilometers above its surroundings and is located very close to the lunar south pole. Boasting permanently shadowed crater floors that likely contain deposits of water ice and peaks that receive almost continuous sunlight for solar power generation, the south polar region is consider a prime location for the first human settlement on the Moon. In fact, De Gerlache-Kocher massif itself has been consider as a potential landing site for future crewed Artemis missions to the Moon. The remarkable telescopic image of the massif at the lunar limb was captured on October 31. Then, a favorable libration angle or lunar wobble enhanced this oblique view across the Moon's south pole.

Tomorrow's picture: meteoric","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"d66c1dfffdb5ecde","title":"A Farewell to Swift","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-6-a-farewell-to-swift/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-06T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: It is time to say goodbye to NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. After nearly 22 years of service, the satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere on November 4 at 7:39 EST over the North Sumatra region of Indonesia. The featured image is a mosaic created in 2018 using the first one million images captured by the satellite's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope. Swift had a combination of instruments, including an X-ray telescope and a gamma-ray telescope, that worked together to enable humanity to study, in unprecedented detail, the fastest and most energetic explosions in the universe. The most recent solar maximum accelerated the decay of the satellite's orbit. An innovative mission to rescue Swift by boosting its orbit was not successful. Swift burned on reentry like a shooting star, but the impressive data acquired by the telescope over its mission will continue to bring light to the mysteries of the cosmos for years to come. May it keep inspiring new missions to boldly go into space, explore new data and seek out new science.

Tomorrow's picture: what's next?","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"da45226dba05759c","title":"Enceladus in Silhouette","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-5-enceladus-in-silhouette/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-05T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Saturn
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: One of our Solar System's most tantalizing worlds, Enceladus is backlit by the Sun in this Cassini spacecraft image from November 1, 2009. The dramatic illumination reveals the plumes that continuously spew into space from the south pole of Saturn's 500 kilometer diameter moon. Discovered by Cassini in 2005, the icy plumes are likely connected to an ocean beneath the ice shell of Enceladus. They supply material directly to Saturn's outer, tenuous E ring and make the surface of Enceladus as reflective as snow. Across the scene, Saturn's icy rings scatter sunlight toward Cassini's cameras. Beyond the rings (lower right), the night side of 80 kilometer diameter moon Pandora is faintly lit by Saturnlight.


Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"449a9667b0ed43dc","title":"The Not-So-Hidden Galaxy, IC 342","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-4-the-not-so-hidden-galaxy-ic-342/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-04T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: “I see” IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy! Today’s image peers through the plane of the Milky Way, through all its gas, dust and stars, to unveil this spiral galaxy. IC 342 (or Caldwell 5) is one of the brightest members of the IC 342/Maffei group of galaxies. Located about 10 million light years away, this group is quite close to the Local Group that includes our Milky Way. Inaccurate accounting of the crowded and dusty Milky Way foreground has led to misunderstandings in IC 342’s history, including the theory that the galaxy was ejected from the Local Group. IC 342 has its own dust intermittently blocking the glow of hydrogen gas, indicating the presence of bright, young stars. Magnetic field maps of IC 342 reveal that magnetic fields may contribute substantially to one of the biggest galactic puzzles: how do spiral arms form?

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"c5dd9adcaaed810e","title":"Comet PanSTARRs and Rainbow Meteor","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-3-comet-panstarrs-and-rainbow-meteor/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-03T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Did this meteor come from that comet? Probably not. Although many meteors do originate from comets, there are thousands of comets that have visited the inner Solar System recently, and matching meteors to them can be tricky. And to be clear, the pictured comet is far behind the streaking meteor. Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was captured from Hautacam, France in April when the giant space iceberg sported impressive ion (blue) and dust tails. Sand-sized rocky debris that enters Earth’s atmosphere typically appears as meteors, while the colorful foreground streak here may indicate a complicated composition. This month three notable meteor showers will reach their peaks. Over the next few days, the Southern Taurids will be reaching their apex, while the Northern Taurids will top out about a week later. Both originate from Comet 2P/Encke. November is most famous for the Leonids Meteor Shower, though, which originates from Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle and will reach its crescendo in about two weeks.

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"371bb24525aad264","title":"A Long Cloud on Mars","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-2-a-long-cloud-on-mars/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-02T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Mars
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: What’s causing this unusually long cloud on Mars? Known as the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC) and first recorded by NASA’s Viking Orbiter 2 in 1977, the strange cloud has been imaged in greater detail more recently by ESA’s robotic Mars Express spacecraft. The featured image is from 2018. The cloud forms only during spring and summer seasons and then only during morning hours. Made of water-ice, the most familiar process that causes cloud crystals to form around bits of dust would fail due to the thinness and lack of dust high in the Martian atmosphere. Leading speculation holds that dust is not involved. After the cloud forms near the volcano Arsia Mons, wind blows the cloud downstream — creating a tail that can extend over 1500 kilometers. Efforts to better understand AMECs will continue, an understanding that may bolster a more complete view of cloud formation on Earth.

Tomorrow's picture: eyeing a cat","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"049df2543dbfacbf","title":"Colors of the Moon","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-november-1-colors-of-the-moon/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-11-01T12:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Different
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: What color is the Moon? It depends on the night -- and the time. Outside of the Earth's atmosphere, the dark Moon, which shines by reflected sunlight, appears a magnificently brown-tinged gray. The featured image highlights a collection of apparent colors of the full moon on Earth, documented by one astrophotographer over 10 years from different locations across Italy. A red- or yellow-colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon. There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes laden with fine dust. A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles. What created the purple moon is unclear -- it may be a combination of several effects. The last image captures the total lunar eclipse of 2018 July -- where the moon, in Earth's shadow, appeared a faint red -- due to light refracted through air around the Earth. Have you ever seen an unusually colorful Moon?

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"562e0d4b9cd8011c","title":"Night on a Spooky Planet","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-31-night-on-a-spooky-planet/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-31T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Steam
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: What spooky planet is this? Planet Earth on a dark and stormy night, of course. The ghostly scene was photographed at Hverir, a geothermally active area found along northeastern Iceland's volcanic landscape. Triggered by solar activity, geomagnetic storms have unleashed energetic particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field. Penetrating the planet's upper atmosphere at high latitudes, the particles create auroral displays in the starry night sky. Ghostly towers of steam and gas are venting from local fumaroles to dance against the eerie, greenish northern lights. For now, auroral activity on planet Earth remains in a high state as the Sun is only in early phases of decline from the peak of its solar activity cycle. And soon, other ghostly apparitions may dance in your neighborhood. Happy Halloween!

Tomorrow's picture: many moons","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"c0eb9f848815daf5","title":"Haunting the Cepheus Flare","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-30-haunting-the-cepheus-flare/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-30T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Interstellar
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Spooky shapes seem to haunt this dusty expanse, drifting through the night in the royal constellation Cepheus. Of course, the shapes are cosmic dust clouds visible in dimly reflected starlight. Far from your own neighborhood, they lurk above the plane of the Milky Way at the edge of the Cepheus Flare molecular cloud complex some 1,200 light-years away. Over 2 light-years across and brighter than most of the other ghostly apparitions, vdB 141 or Sh2-136 is also known as the Ghost Nebula. It lies at lower right in the starry field of view. Inside the Ghost Nebula are reddish telltale signs of dense cores collapsing in the early stages of star formation. With the eerie hue of interstellar dust reflecting bluish light from hot young stars of NGC 7023, the Iris Nebula stands out against the dark just left of center. In the broad telescopic frame, these fertile interstellar dust fields stretch almost six full moons across the sky.

Tomorrow's picture: night on a spooky planet","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"db84c5d290634e44","title":"The Horns of Venus","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-29-october-2026-the-horns-of-venus/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-29T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: That's no moon. But you could be forgiven for thinking it was a crescent Moon in the sky. It is a lesser known fact that Venus also has phases. (What about other planets?) The featured image shows Venus seen almost directly between the Sun and the Earth. This happens once every year and a half, and it is like the alignment that happens every month during a new Moon. But the new Moon is dark, while Venus' backlit atmosphere refracts and scatters the sunlight, creating a glowing crescent arc that extends beyond 180 degrees: the tips of this arc are called the \"horns\". The crescent can be seen with a small telescope or binoculars during twilight, but those with exceptionally acute eyesight may be able to see it with the unaided eye. Ancient Babylonian astronomers may have been the first to study Venus' brightness changes, which are related to its phases. Many other cultures have similar astronomical records, including the oldest surviving Maya book.

Tomorrow's picture: What's next?","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"ed8ab0098ddb135b","title":"The Mutual Occultation of Ganymede and Io","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-28-the-mutual-occultation-of-ganymede-and-io/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-28T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\n

Astronomy Picture of the Day

\n

\n\nDiscover the cosmos!\nEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is\nfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.\n

\n\n2026 October 28
\n\n\n


Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Jupiter is one of the least lonely planets in the Solar System, at least when it comes to natural satellites. 115 moons have been discovered orbiting Jupiter so far! (Saturn has the most with 293, but who’s counting.) Ganymede and Io, two of Jupiter’s Galilean moons, met in the sky on October 20th, 2026. Today’s video captures the meeting, with Ganymede briefly blocking Io from view. This event, when an astronomical object passes in front of another and either completely or partially blocks it, is called a mutual occultation. The mutual occultations of Galilean moons are rare to witness because they require Earth’s edge-on view of their orbits. This occurs once every 6 years when Jupiter reaches its equinox and appears less “tilted”. Ganymede is also casting its shadow on Jupiter’s right side. Any fictional Jovian species within the shadow would experience a solar eclipse!

Tomorrow's picture: a planet grows horns","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"31de0645a362275c","title":"Noctilucent Clouds over Sweden","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-27-noctilucent-clouds-over-sweden/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-27T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises upfrom the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Normally too dim to be seen, they may become visible just after sunset during the summer when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon. Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds and are known more technically as polar mesospheric clouds. Featured here as they appeared in early August, a network of blue noctilucent clouds was captured in the distant sky above a field of green grass near Linköping, Sweden, with trees in stark silhouette across the horizon. Much about noctilucent clouds has been discovered only in the past two decades, while how they form and evolve remains a topic of active research.

Tomorrow's picture: round and round","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"6819baf3ac58edd4","title":"M42: The Great Nebula in Orion","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/2026-october-26-m42-the-great-nebula-in-orion/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-26T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: The Great Nebula in Orion, an immense, nearby starbirth region, is one the most famous of all astronomical nebulas. Here, glowing gas surrounds hot young stars at the edge of an immense interstellar molecular cloud only 1500 light-years away. In the featured deep image in assigned colors highlighted by emission in hydrogen, wisps and sheets of dust and gas are particularly evident. The Great Nebula in Orion can be found with the unaided eye near the easily identifiable belt of three stars in the popular constellation Orion. In addition to housing a bright open cluster of stars known as the Trapezium, the Orion Nebula contains many stellar nurseries. These nurseries contain much hydrogen gas, hot young stars, proplyds, and stellar jets spewing material at high speeds. Also known as M42, the Orion Nebula spans about 40 light years and is located in the same spiral arm of our Galaxy as the Sun.

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"c9eb25cdfeb8aab8","title":"Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-25-dark-matter-in-a-simulated-universe/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-25T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Is our universe haunted? It might look that way on this dark matter map. The gravity of unseen dark matter is the leading explanation for why galaxies rotate so fast, why galaxies orbit clusters so fast, why gravitational lenses so strongly deflect light, and how visible matter is distributed. The featured image from the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium Space Show, Dark Universe, highlights one example of how pervasive dark matter might haunt our universe. In this frame from a detailed computer simulation, complex filaments of dark matter, shown in black, are strewn about the universe like spider webs, while the relatively rare clumps of familiar baryonic matter are colored orange. These simulations are good statistical matches to astronomical observations. In what is perhaps a scarier turn of events, dark matter -- although quite strange and in an unknown form -- is no longer thought to be the strangest source of gravity in the universe. That honor now falls to dark energy, a more uniform source of repulsive gravity that seems to now dominate the expansion of the entire universe.

Tomorrow's picture: Orion the Great","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"0415b542c0502097","title":"Rosetta's Selfie","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-24-rosettas-selfie/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-24T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Image
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: This Rosetta spacecraft selfie was snapped on October 7th, 2014. At the time the comet-chasing spacecraft was about 472 million kilometers from planet Earth, but only 16 kilometers from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Looming beyond the spacecraft near the top of the frame, dust and gas stream away from the comet's curious double-lobed nucleus. Bright sunlight glints off one of Rosetta's 14 meter long solar arrays. In fact, two exposures, one short and one long, were combined to record the dramatic high contrast scene using the CIVA camera system on Rosetta's still-attached Philae lander. Its chosen primary landing site was on the visible hemisphere of the smaller lobe of the nucleus. This was the last image from Philae's camera before the lander separated from Rosetta on November 12. Shortly after separation Philae took another image looking back toward the orbiter and began its descent to the nucleus of the comet.

Tomorrow's picture: dark matters
","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"919ebd85b8a615b8","title":"Andromeda in Southern Spring","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-23-andromeda-in-southern-spring/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-23T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Looking toward the north from Mullion, New South Wales, Australia, the Andromeda Galaxy never gets more than a few degrees above the horizon. During the southern hemisphere spring, Andromeda is highest in the sky around midnight though. And in this telephoto scene from October 10/11, multiple exposures were used to reveal the spiral galaxy in tantalizing detail as it climbed above rolling Australian hills. Also known as M31, the Andromeda Galaxy is one of the brightest objects in the Messier catalog, but is only visible to the unaided eye as a small, faint, fuzzy patch. Digitally tracked and stacked frames were combined with a foreground shot in the deep astro-image composite to reveal the galaxy's greater extent in planet Earth's night. In the springtime night skyscape,the closest large spiral galaxy spans nearly 6 full moons.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"1da29521c49bda6c","title":"The First Green Star, WD J1330+6435","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-22-the-first-green-star-wd-j13306435/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-22T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Star light, star bright: is there a green star out tonight? Other than the Sun, all stars are so far from Earth that they appear as points in the sky. They are mostly white, but sometimes noticeably red or blue. This color typically relates to the temperature: blue stars are hotter than red stars. What about other colors? The featured image is an illustration showing WD J1330+6435, a white dwarf star, surrounded by an accretion disk with gas and rocks orbiting the star. White dwarfs are small, faint stars that are left over when a star like the Sun exhausts its nuclear fuel. Astronomers recently found that some white dwarf stars, despite their name, would appear yellow, green, cyan, pink, or purple. In these cases, trace elements that were accreted to these stars interact with the stellar atmosphere and shift its normally white color. But, alas! I wish I may, I wish I might, but they are too faint to see tonight...

Tomorrow's picture: eye in the sky","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"a2f542aef18949c0","title":"New Ghosts Revealed in Cassiopeia","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-21-new-ghosts-revealed-in-cassiopeia/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-21T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Jinkies, look at all those ghosts! It took 100 hours of observation and a special oxygen filter for today’s image to capture three faint nebulas hidden in the Cassiopeia constellation. IC 59 and IC 63, the original Ghosts of Cassiopeia, haunt the region near multi-star system γ Cassiopeia. Energetic light from γ Cassiopeia causes the hydrogen gas in IC 59 and 63 to glow red. Their dust reflects and scatters some blue-ish white starlight. Newly discovered Objects 1, 2, and 3 appear as blue phantoms, revealing the presence of ionized oxygen. But ionized by what? Like at the bow of a speeding boat, γ Cassiopeia may be piling up material as the system moves through interstellar gas and dust. It follows that Object 3 may be the compressed and heated oxygen of that bow shock. Object 1 could be a planetary nebula if a central white dwarf is identified. The origins of these astronomical apparitions remain a mystery to be solved.

Tomorrow's picture: it's not easy being green","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"bed6a3d73fabd106","title":"An Anticrepuscular Rainbow Fan","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-20-an-anticrepuscular-rainbow-fan/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-20T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Hills
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: This is an unusual rainbow. For one thing, the rainbow is not complete, appearing only in a sunlit fan -- but that by itself is not very unusual. What is most unusual is the fake location of the Sun. The Sun appears to be toward the front, just below those hills -- but it is not. That is not how rainbows work. Rainbows involve a backward reflection from falling rain, so that the Sun must really be behind you. In this case, gaps between clouds near the setting Sun allowed rays to cross the entire sky and appear to converge in front, an unusual phenomenon called anticrepuscular rays. The photo was taken with a phone last week at sunset in Presenzano, Italy. The seemingly reverse rainbow was noticed when hanging up laundry.

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"bcde6aa94eacad11","title":"Treble Clef: Unusual X-ray Hot Radio Source","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-19-treble-clef-unusual-x-ray-hot-radio-source/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-19T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Explanation : What is Treble Clef? This unusual radio structure extends over 2 million light-years and resembles a common musical symbol -- but has its visible light hidden by our own Milky Way Galaxy. Examined in 2004, the nature of VLSS J0318.9+5755, dubbed Treble Clef, remained unknown. Recent observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and eROSITA, however, have led to the hypothesis that the Treble Clef central cloud of charged particles was originally expelled by a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy. After the radio emission from those particles faded, they may have been reinvigorated by a shock wave from the collision of two clusters of galaxies. The featured composite image shows radio emission in red, while recently discovered X-rays are shown in blue. Unusual objects like Treble Clef give humanity unexpected clues about how whole clusters of galaxies interact as well as the general evolution of our universe.

Tomorrow's picture: backwards rainbow","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5790d55de539f968","title":"Sonified: Eagle Nebula Pillars","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-18-sonified-eagle-nebula-pillars/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-18T11:00:00+00:00","content":"
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Yes, but have you ever experienced the Eagle Nebula with your ears? The famous nebula M16 is best known for the feast it gives your eyes, highlighting bright young stars forming deep inside dark towering structures. These light-years long columns of cold gas and dust are some 6,500 light-years distant toward the constellation of the Serpent (Serpens). Sculpted and eroded by the energetic ultraviolet light and powerful winds from M16's cluster of massive stars, the cosmic pillars themselves are destined for destruction. But the turbulent environment of star formation within M16, whose spectacular details are captured in this combined Hubble (visible) and Chandra (X-ray) image, is likely similar to the environment that formed our own Sun. In the featured video, listen for stars and dust sounding off as the line of sonification moves left to right, with vertical position determining pitch.

Tomorrow's picture: what could it be?","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"0edcab3ac456b08f","title":"3D 67P","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-17-3d-67p/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-17T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Red/blue
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Put on your red/blue glasses and float next to the jagged and double-lobed nucleus of Churyumov-Gerasimenko, also known as Comet 67P . The stereo anaglyph was created by combining two images from the Rosetta spacecraft's narrow angle OSIRIS camera taken on July 25, 2015 from a distance of 184 kilometers. Numerous jets are emanating from the small solar system world's active surface near its closest approach to the Sun. The larger lobe is around 4 kilometers in diameter, joined to a smaller, 2.5 kilometer diameter lobe by a narrow neck. Rosetta's mission to the comet ended in September 2016 when the spacecraft was commanded to a controlled impact with the comet's surface . Keep those 3D glasses on though. You can check out a catalog of nearly 1400 stereo anaglyphs created from Rosetta image data on this website.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8fe5cf1a00d80bb5","title":"Chasing the International Space Station","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-16-chasing-the-international-space-station/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-16T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\n

Astronomy Picture of the Day

\n

\n\nDiscover the cosmos!\nEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is\nfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.\n

\n\n2026 October 16
\n\n\n


Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Blasting into the predawn sky on Tuesday, October 13, a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are headed for low Earth orbit in this stunning timelapse video captured from Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. Starting with a launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Falcon and Dragon are chasing the International Space Station on NASA's 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission. On cue, the space station itself enters the frame from the top. Almost 8 seconds into the 30 second timelapse. the bright streak of the ISS appears heading \"down\" toward the horizon. The first and second stages of the Falcon 9 are separating as the spectacular exhaust plume jellyfish grows, already catching the light of the rising Sun. The visible sequence of first stage boost back, re-entry, and landing burns begins around 20 seconds into the video. With the second stage following the ISS toward the distant horizon, the jellyfish plume continues to drift in the predawn sky, even after the successful first stage landing at planet Earth's Landing Zone 40.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"1290f9d0653e3991","title":"The Milky Way over Manhattan","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-15-the-milky-way-over-manhattan/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-15T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: The city lights outshine the stars in the City That Never Sleeps. Who would have thought that the Milky Way could be visible in this sky? This image was taken with a filter that blocks most visible light, capturing instead only light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (with lower energy than visible light). The astrophotographer's clever setup blocks most of the light pollution from the city: old incandescent light bulbs and some neon lights are still bright in the near-infrared, but fluorescent and LED light bulbs are not. Of course, stars are also bright in the near-infrared! This image is a reminder that we all live under the same sky, and astronomy allows all of us to learn more about humanity's place in the Cosmos.

Tomorrow's picture: Chasing the ISS","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"2cc830136b8b35a6","title":"Mars and the Beehive Under an Aurora","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-14-mars-and-the-beehive-under-an-aurora/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-14T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: What a cosmic coincidence! In today’s image, Mars joins the Beehive cluster (M44 or Praesepe) below an auroral curtain and above a horizon of happy little trees near Lansjärv, Sweden. An eruption off the Sun reached Earth on October 10th, 2026 causing strong disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field. Energetic particles from the eruption collide with and energize the molecules in Earth’s atmosphere, which release that extra energy as the colorful aurora captured here. Auroras, or guovssahasat in North Sámi, is traditionally viewed with respect by the Sámi people indigenous to Sweden and other Arctic regions. Coincidentally, Mars appeared closest to the center of the Beehive cluster in the sky at the time. Although bees have been to space, the Beehive cluster is actually a swarm of young stars. Their rotation periods have helped humanity learn about how stars spin slower over time as they lose mass through their stellar winds.

Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"05a391bcef3a4abc","title":"Desert Stairway to Heaven","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-13-desert-stairway-to-heaven/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-13T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: This stairway in Chile brings you only a little bit closer to heaven. But ooh, the sky above it makes you wonder. For example, you may wonder about the dark lane of our own Milky Way galaxy rising behind the expansive Atacama Desert in Chile, the band of zodiacal light on the upper left, the green and red airglow just above the horizon, the star Spica in the zodiacal light stripe, and, at the very top on the right, the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy. The Desert Staircase sculpture is in the foreground, and this image was timed to catch the picturesque peering perch just in front of the near-vertical Milky Way band. Upon close inspection of the horizon you can find, left to right, some Andes Mountains, the Licancabur volcano, and the town lights of San Pedro de Atacama. The featured wide-angle composite was captured in July 2025.

Tomorrow's picture: space bees","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"1562ad4077165b2c","title":"Jupiter and the Moons","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-12-jupiter-and-the-moons/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-12T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"In
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: How many moons can you see? The best answer is five: four orbiting Jupiter and Luna orbiting Earth. This multi-moon picture was possible because Earth's Moon moved directly in front of Jupiter last week. The featured image is a series of exposures near alignment taken from Westchester, New York, USA. The sunlit crescent of Earth's Moon, on the lower left, is overexposed, while the Moon's night side, on the upper right, is faintly illuminated by Earthshine. Lined up nearly vertically above our Moon, listed from bottom to top, are Jupiter's bright Galilean satellites: Ganymede, Io, Callisto, and Europa. Callisto, Ganymede, and Io are larger than Earth's Moon, while Europa is only slightly smaller. NASA's robotic spacecraft Juno is currently orbiting Jupiter and has made close passes near three of these moons.

Tomorrow's picture: stairway to heaven","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"50c39922d3548d1b","title":"Ice Fishing for Cosmic Neutrinos","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-11-ice-fishing-for-cosmic-neutrinos/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-11T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Scientists are melting holes in the bottom of the world. In fact, almost 100 holes melted near the South Pole are now being used as an astronomical observatory. Astronomers with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory lowered a long string knotted with basketball-sized light detectors into each vertical lake. The water in each hole soon refreezes. The detectors attached to the strings are sensitive to blue light emitted in the surrounding clear ice. Such light results from fast-moving secondary particles liberated when high-energy neutrinos emitted by powerful processes out in the universe collide with ice molecules. IceCube has now detected many illuminating neutrinos. Pictured in 2010, one of the last of IceCube's detector strings is lowered into the freezing abyss, making IceCube the largest neutrino detector ever created. In recognition of unprecedented discoveries, it was announced earlier this week that a founding leader of the IceCube Collaboration will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Tomorrow's picture: Moons Planet","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"5e7f1477c9c7f2b6","title":"Lunar Farside","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-10-lunar-farside/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-10T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria.

Tomorrow's picture: Sunday's Childe","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"97796af75005bd96","title":"Stickney Crater","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-9-stickney-crater/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-09T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Stickney Crater, the largest crater on the martian moon Phobos, is named for Chloe Angeline Stickney Hall, mathematician and wife of astronomer Asaph Hall. Asaph Hall discovered both the Red Planet's moons in 1877. Over 9 kilometers across, Stickney is nearly half the diameter of Phobos itself, so large that the impact that blasted out the crater likely came close to shattering the tiny moon. This enhanced-color image of Stickney and surroundings was recorded by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passed within some six thousand kilometers of Phobos in March of 2008. Even though the surface gravity of asteroid-like Phobos is less than 1/1000th Earth's gravity, streaks suggest loose material slid down inside the crater walls over time. Light bluish regions near the crater's rim could indicate a relatively freshly exposed surface. The origin of the curious grooves along the surface is mysterious but may be related to tidal stresses experienced by close-orbiting Phobos or the crater-forming impact itself.

Tomorrow's picture: farside","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"08cc3fbf45f81397","title":"The Saturn System Smörgåsbord","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-8-the-saturn-system-smorgasbord/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-08T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Saturn
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: How was the Saturn system imaged so clearly? Astrophotographer Tom Williams captured such exquisite details due to one night of exceptional atmospheric conditions above the United Kingdom. This means more than a cloudless sky. Pockets of air at different temperatures and densities move around and bend light as it travels through Earth’s atmosphere, distorting astronomy images. This is called “seeing”. Less atmospheric turbulence means clearer images. The astrophotographer reduced the impact of seeing with the lucky imaging technique: thousands of short-exposure images are taken very quickly with a high-speed camera and the clearest images are added up. Which object in this smörgåsbord interests you? Perhaps Titan or the icy stripes of Enceladus? Maybe the gaps and spokes in Saturn’s rings? Saturn's opposition, when Earth passes in between the planet and the Sun, occurred on October 4th. Due to the planet's proximity and full illumination from the Sun, now is a great time of year to observe it!

Tomorrow's picture: bumpy","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f8fcc672add7c75e","title":"Supernova Remnant Pa 30","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-7-supernova-remnant-pa-30/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-07T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: \"Happy New Year!\" No, wait, this is not a fireworks display. This image shows Nebula Pa 30, observed with the Gemini North Telescope in Hawai'i. It is likely the remnant of an old supernova explosion: separate historical records by Chinese, Japanese and Arabic astronomers tell of a \"guest star\" that appeared in the sky for 185 days in the year 1181. It is believed that this bright new point of light came from the supernova that caused the fireworks in Pa 30. Astronomers don't know exactly what happened in this unusual explosion, classified as a Type Iax supernova, but it is thought to be caused by the merger of two white dwarfs. The mysterious central star in the image is extremely hot and produces a strong wind, possibly forming the radial filaments. Look closely at them: those pearl-like knots stringing the filaments are 4 light-days in diameter. Understanding how a supernova created this amazing nebula continues an 845-year old mystery (and counting).

Tomorrow's picture: smörgåsbord","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"8105b98348524781","title":"A Complete Auroral Oval from SMILE","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-6-a-complete-auroral-oval-from-smile/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-06T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"See
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Have you ever seen a complete auroral oval? You can't see one from the ground because it makes too large a circle around one of Earth's magnetic poles. But spacecraft high above the Earth can see them. The featured video from ESA and CAS's robotic SMILE spacecraft shows not only a full auroral oval, but using ultraviolet light, one that occurred during the day. The time-lapse covers about an hour in late July and shows visually how variable and turbulent auroras really are. The points of light on the sides are distant stars that appear to move only because SMILE's camera view shifts as the spacecraft orbits the Earth. A goal of SMILE is to better understand how the Sun's wind interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere -- and so better understand how to protect astronauts, spacecraft, and ground-based electrical grids from solar storms.

Tomorrow's picture: a ghost","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"f36dc8d36d1c67c2","title":"M104: The Sombrero Galaxy's Tidal Streams","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-5-m104-the-sombrero-galaxys-tidal-streams/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-05T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: A deep image of the Sombrero galaxy reveals surprises. M104 is named the Sombrero galaxy because, on shorter exposures, it looks like a hat. A key defining feature of this huge galaxy is a dark brim of dust that circles the disk galaxy's center. A much longer exposure, however, brings up a hairy past where a bright, hazy halo is revealed that extends well past the central disk and contains many unresolved stars. Surprisingly, in this stellar haze, structures can be seen that include a diagonal ring. These structures and tidal streams provide fresh evidence that M104 had a violent past and is surely the result of collisions and mergers of smaller galaxies. Light takes about 30 million years to reach us from the Sombrero galaxy, which fully spans about 150 thousand light years across. The featured image was taken over seven days in mid-2026 from Namibia.

Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
Tomorrow's picture: a smile","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"9d15143264b4e57d","title":"Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-4-supernumerary-rainbows-over-new-jersey/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-04T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"The
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Yes, but can your rainbow do this? After the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey, USA in 2018, the Sun came out in one direction but something quite unusual appeared in the opposite direction: a hall of rainbows. Over the course of the next half hour, to the delight of the photographer and his daughter, vibrant supernumerary rainbows faded in and out, with at least five captured in this featured single shot. Supernumerary rainbows only form when falling water droplets are all nearly the same size and typically less than a millimeter across. Then, sunlight will not only reflect from inside the raindrops, but interfere, a wave phenomenon similar to ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown in. In fact, supernumerary rainbows can only be explained with waves, and their noted existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence of light's wave nature.

Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
Tomorrow's picture: open space","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"aa235ffea00bc5d0","title":"Selfie at Vera Rubin Ridge","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-3-selfie-at-vera-rubin-ridge/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-03T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Fisheye
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: On sol 1943 of its journey of exploration across the surface of Mars, the Curiosity Rover recorded this selfie at the south rim of Vera Rubin Ridge. Of course a sol is a Martian solar day, about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day. Curiosity's sol 1943 corresponds to Earth date January 23, 2018. Also composed as an interactive 360 degree VR, the mosaicked panorama combines 61 exposures taken by the small car-sized rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). Frames containing the imager's arm have been edited out while the extended background used was taken by the rover's Mastcam on sol 1903. At the top of the rover's mast, sitting above the Mastcam, the laser-firing ChemCam housing blocks out the distant, 5 kilometer high peak of Mount Sharp. On Earth date August 26, 2026, Curiosity marked an total elevation gain of 1 kilometer in its trek from the floor of Gale Crater up the slope of Mount Sharp.

APOD's email for image submissions has changed. Please see: APOD Submissions.
Tomorrow's picture: Sunday's Childe","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"e4437a40d5de3c49","title":"The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 Nebulas","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-2-the-complete-sharpless-catalog-313-nebulae/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-02T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\n

Astronomy Picture of the Day

\n

\n\nDiscover the cosmos!\nEach day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is\nfeatured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.\n

\n\n2026 October 2
\n\n\n


Explanation: \n\nExplanation: What does it take to image hundreds of nebulas? Today’s image contains the entire Sharpless Catalog of H II Regions, totaling 313 objects. Zoom in and explore! You may spot fan favorites like the Eagle (Sh2-49), Heart (Sh2-190), and Orion (Sh2-281) Nebulas. Despite its name, this catalog contains more than the glow of ionized hydrogen that makes up H II regions. There are planetary nebulas (the Medusa Nebula, Sh2-274) and supernova remnants (the Spaghetti Nebula, Sh2-240) as well. Astrophotographer Bing Xin traversed the dark skies of Eastern China and Inner Mongolia to catch them all. Narrowband filters that primarily capture light from ionized hydrogen and oxygen as well as red-green-blue filters were used. Each object took 2 to 6 hours to capture, with the entire catalog taking around 800 hours to complete! Which object is your favorite?

APOD's email for image submissions has changed. Please see: APOD Submissions
Tomorrow's picture: just Curiosity","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"c84a73166a6805d4","title":"Harvest Moon with Erupting Mount Etna","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-1-harvest-moon-with-belt-of-venus-and-erupting-mount-etna/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-10-01T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"Rise
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Have you ever seen the full moon rise? This colorful image was photographed last weekend in Sicily, just outside the town of Nicosia, in Italy. It is a composite photograph that shows the Moon rising as the sky turns darker. Lower clouds are reflecting the colors of antitwilight, while ash and gas from Mount Etna are seen higher in the background. The pink band lower in the sky is called the Belt of Venus. During a full moon, the Moon and the Sun are in opposition in the sky: the moon rises as the sun sets. The lunar phase cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days (but the Moon takes approximately 27 days to orbit the Earth). In some cultures of the Northern Hemisphere, the September full moon is called the Harvest Moon. Does your culture have a special name for it? (A full moon by any other name would shine as bright.)

APOD's email for image submissions has changed. Please see: APOD Submissions
APOD's main NASA site has moved : From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Tomorrow's picture: sharpless","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"id":"d425a46e3f154aac","title":"Arp 78: Peculiar Galaxy in Aries","link":"https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-september-30-arp-78-peculiar-galaxy-in-aries/","author":"Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)","published_at":"2026-09-30T11:00:00+00:00","content":"\"A
Explanation: \n\nExplanation: Peculiar spiral galaxy Arp 78 is found within the boundaries of the head strong constellation Aries. Some 100 million light-years beyond the stars and nebulae of our Milky Way galaxy, the island universe is an enormous 200,000 light-years across. Also known as NGC 772, it sports a prominent, outer spiral arm in this detailed cosmic portrait. Tracking along sweeping dust lanes and lined with young blue star clusters, Arp 78's overdeveloped spiral arm is pumped-up by galactic-scale gravitational tides. Interactions with its brightest companion galaxy, the more compact NGC 770 seen directly below the larger spiral, are likely responsible. Embedded in faint star streams revealed in the deep telescopic exposure, NGC 770's fuzzy, elliptical appearance contrasts nicely with spiky foreground Milky Way stars.

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Tomorrow's picture: a harvest","metadata":{"score":null,"source_feed_id":"nasa-apod","source_feed_type":"rss"}},{"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"}}]