NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see a part of the sky near the constellations of Orion and Taurus. This deep image, incorporating over 800 hours' worth of exposure allows us to see many of the nebulae in this region. Many of these nebulae have been the subject for APOD over the past few years. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the first quarter moon above a mountain. Here we can see the similar shadows of both objects. We note that the right side is illuminated while the left side is dark. This is caused by the fact that both shadows are created by light from our own Sun. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see massive snow drifts from a storm that struck Michigan's Upper Peninsula 86 years ago this week. This is not the overall level of snow that fell, but drifts cause by high winds. The large amount of snow made roads essentially unallowable due to the amount of snow.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the boost back burn of the side boosters of a Falcon Heavy rocket as they returned to Earth on December 28 of last year. The boosters are then refueled and used for future missions. This was the fifth use of this pair of boosters. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a number of images taken over the timespan of 2 hours and 30 minutes. This is about one quarter of a day on Jupiter which rotates in a bit less than 10 hours. Jupiter is the fastest rotating of all the planets in the solar system.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image of the aurora or norther lights as seen from an airplane. The red and green colors are both caused by the excitation of oxygen atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere with the red color from the higher layers and the green from lower layers. Both are from the upper atmosphere, well above Earth's surface. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the command module from the Apollo 17 mission from December of 1972 against the background of our Moon. The was the final mission to land humans on the Moon. We are continuing exploration of our Moon and plans are to have a group os astronauts travel around the Moon and back as early as September of 2025.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a deep image of the region around Orion. The prominent stars in Orion are there, but not as prominent as we are used to because of all of the gas/dust that is visible in the deep image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the star cluster known by its catalog designation of IC 348. Many young clusters like this are hidden by dust and not well studied in visible light. The James Webb Space Telescope which also observes in the infrared gives us a look into this young cluster, including the many brown dwarf stars forming here.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an aurora over Iceland which may be seen to resemble a dragon in the sky. The aurora are caused by charged particles from our Sun which excite oxygen atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere and cause them to glow. The more active the Sun, the stronger and more prominent the aurora will be. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a circle around the Sun in the form of a 22 degrees halo caused by ice crystals in Earth's atmosphere. The planet Earth also circles the Sun, but in an elliptical orbit which causes its distance to change slightly over the year. A bit over a week ago, Earth was at its closest to the Sun, what we call perihelion.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the thin crescent moon in the morning sky. This was the last day before the moon reached the new phases and started its cycle of phases over again. While we cannot see them in this image, Mercury and Venus would also go through a cycle of phases as seen from Earth. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a number of meteors from the Quadrantid meteor shower. A meteor shower is named from the constellation from which the meteors appear to radiate. In this case, it is the obsolete constellation of Quadrans Muralis which is no longer one of the constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a star forming region in the constellation of Cepheus. In this area, we see many different types of nebulae including red emission nebulae, blue reflection nebulae, and dark dusty nebulae. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the nebula known as Thor's Helmet for its distinctive appearance. This is the nebula around a young Wolf-Rayet star. These are extremely hot and massive stars which expel material out into space. They are also stars that are expected to become supernovae at some point in the future. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see multiple images of Venus as taken a few years ago. We can see the cycle of phases that Venus goes through just like our own Moon. The difference is that Venus will change size as its orbit takes it closer to and farther from us in our own orbit. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Cat's Eye Nebula, an example of a planetary nebula observed at both visible and optical wavelengths. A planetary nebula is the end state of a star much like our own Sun with the nebula surrounding the compact white dwarf star at the center. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a video clip from the Rosetta spacecraft from 2016 showing some snow from close to the surface of the comet. The Rosetta craft gave us some much better understanding of how comets behave by orbiting and studying it up close.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the central portion of the Orion Nebula, which includes the Trapezium star cluster. The brightest star in this cluster emits mist of the ultraviolet light that energizes the rest of the nebula and causes it to glow. It is possible that there is also a black hole present here, based on studies of the velocities of the stars.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi. The star is moving through space at a very fast speed, causing the shock wave seen in the image. It was likely once in a binary system where the companion star exploded, allowing this star to make its journey through the galaxy. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a type of aurora known as a SAR (Stable Red Auroral) arc. The phenomenon has only been studied for the past 70 years or so and is still not completely understood. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a SpaceX rocket as it is being launched. The timing was perfect so that the rocket passed directly in front of the Moon on its journey into space. The distortions on the lower part of the Moon are caused by the rocket exhaust heating the atmosphere. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the spiral galaxy known by its catalog designation of NGC 1232. This is a grand design spiral galaxy with spiral arms majestically flowing outward from the center. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see Illustris - a simulation of the universe completed in 2014. As we watch the video, we will see the universe as it forms and the structures that develop over time. We will see how dark matter is needed to form the structures seen in the universe today. We also can wonder why the simulation produces far more old stars than we see in our universe.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the last full moon of 2023 very close to the horizon. The distortions are causes by refraction from different layers of Earth's atmosphere and their bending of light. Earth's atmosphere is also responsible for the color changes seen when our Moon is close to the horizon. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the planet Uranus as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope. Uranus is interesting as it orbit the Sun on its side, but also because of the naming of its moons for characters from the works of Shakespeare.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see Jupiter, the largest of the planets in the solar system off to the right side of the image. In addition, we see one of the Geminid meteors, a tiny bit of material from an asteroid that is vaporizing in our upper atmosphere. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a multicolored aurora in the sky over a waterfall in Iceland. Above this is the Milky Way - our own galaxy as we see it from within. In addition, we can see the Andromeda galaxy and the Pleiades star cluster in the image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the supernova remnant known as the Jellyfish Nebula. This is an example of a remnant of a Type II supernova which occurs at the end of the life of a very massive star.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an alignment of three objects - The Cathedral in front of the distant mountain here on Earth - timed so that the Moon was rising directly behind the mountain (and cathedral!) It took the photographer several years of waiting for the weather to cooperate on a day when the Moon would be properly aligned to get this image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a young planetary nebula which is the end state of a star much like our own Sun. The core has collapsed down to an extremely dense white dwarf star while the outer layers have expanded and been expelled out into space. It is a relatively short-lived, but beautiful stage of a star's life. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see an image from a nice summer night in December in New Zealand. Since seasons on Earth are opposite, winter is currently starting in the Northern Hemisphere while Summer is starting in the Southern Hemisphere. In the sky, we see such things as the Southern Cross and the two bright stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a 183 day exposure of the Sun using a pinhole camera. This shows the position of the Sun over the course of the 6 month period from June to December of 2022.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see three galaxies which are relatively close together in the sky along with a comet passing that same general direction in space. While the comet is close to us - within our own solar system, the galaxies are about 70 million light years away - far beyond the comet in space. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a number of different ice halos and other features around the setting Sun. The features are caused by ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere and are formed by the reflection and refraction of sunlight off of these crystals. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the California Nebula also known by the catalog designation of NGC 1499. This is an example of an emission nebula where light from a hot star ionizes the gas nearby and causes it to glow. The red color is associated with hydrogen gas, the most common element in the universe. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see what is known as the Same Color Illusion. Squares A & B are exactly the same color although it may not look like they are at first glance. When a bar of the same color is laid between these two, we can see that they are actually the same color. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see many of the Geminid meteors which appear to converge off in the distance toward the constellation of Gemini. These meteors are unusual as they are associated with an asteroid (3200 Phaethon) instead of a comet as with most meteor showers. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a crescent view of the moon of Saturn, Enceladus as images by the Cassini spacecraft. This moon is surprisingly active for such a small object, having volcanic activity that results in the expulsion of icy materials from regions near its South Pole. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see two images of the constellation Orion side by side. In the left image, we see the red supergiant star, Betelgeuse at its regular brightness. In the right image, we see Betelgeuse much fainter as this was taken as an asteroid passed directly between Earth and Betelgeuse blocking out much of the light from the star. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the supernova remnant known as Cassiopeia A. This would have been seen to explode here on Earth about 350 years ago. However, it was not clearly seen, possibly because of excess dust between us and the supernova.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the emission nebula known as the Heart Nebula to the left and below and to the right is the Fish Head nebula. This Heart Nebula is an example of an emission nebula which contains gases that have been excited by the ultraviolet light from hot stars.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a view of the sky from Norway which includes a prominent aurora, our Milky Way galaxy, the Pleiades star cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the planet Mars. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a video clip comparing solar activity at minimum (left) and maximum (right). The Sun goes through an 11 year cycle of solar activity with a peak of activity every 11 years. The more active the Sun is, the more we see solar flares and auroral activity here on Earth.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Big Dipper which is an asterism or grouping of bright stars located in the constellation of Ursa Major. The middle five stars in the dipper all move roughly together in space, but the two on either end are moving in somewhat different directions which will cause the appearance of the dipper to change over many thousands of years. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Pleiades star cluster, an open star cluster located in the constellation of Taurus. We also see the bright trail of a meteor which happened to pass through the same area of the sky while the image was being taken.My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the bright star Vega to the upper left, the fifth brightest star in our night sky. To the lower right, we see the comet Pons-Brooks which is making its way into the inner solar system and last visited nearly 70 years ago. It will reach its closest approach to our Sun in April of 2024. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Orion spacecraft as it flew around our Moon last year in a test of the craft to eventually return humans to the Moon. The large "ocean" is actually one of the maria on the Moon which is an old impact basin that was flooded with lava billions of years ago. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a part of the Carina Nebula where stars are forming from dust while already formed stars are eating away at the dust, inhibiting star formation. It is a battle that the stars will eventually win as the nebula is cleared. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a shower of particles from a single, very high energy nucleus striking Earth's upper atmosphere. While these cosmic rays strike Earth all the time, this one was of exceptionally high energy and astronomers are trying to understand how it formed and where it came from. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected] work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.