Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 January 31

Artemis I: Flight Day 13
Image Credit: NASA, Artemis I

Explanation: On flight day 13 (November 28, 2022) of the Artemis 1
mission, the Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth.
At over 430,000 kilometers from Earth, its distant retrograde orbit
also puts Orion nearly 70,000 kilometers from the Moon. In the same
field of view in this video frame from flight day 13, planet and large
natural satellite even appear about the same apparent size from the
spacecraft's perspective. On flight day 26 (December 11, 2022), the
uncrewed spacecraft splashed down on its home world concluding the
historic Artemis I mission. The Artemis II mission, carrying 4
astronauts around the moon and back again, will launch no earlier than
February 8.

Tomorrow's picture: happy face
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 1
Several craters are visible on a tan surface. The largest crater, on
the right, has internal markings that make it look like a winking face
with a smile. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Galle: Happy Face Crater on Mars
Image Credit: NASA, MGS, MSSS

Explanation: Mars has put on a happy face. The Martian crater Galle is
famous because it has internal markings that make it look like a face
that is both smiling and winking. These markings were originally
discovered in the 1970s in pictures taken by the Viking Orbiter. The
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft that orbited Mars from 1996 to
2006 captured the featured picture. Happy Face Crater and its iconic
features were formed by chance billions of years ago when a city-sized
asteroid slammed into the Martian surface. All rocky planets and moons
in our Solar System show impact craters, with the highest number of
craters found on Earth's Moon and the planet Mercury. Earth and Venus
would show the most, though, were it not for weather and erosion.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: fast gas
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
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NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 2
A complex nebula is shown that is mostly blue and red on the left half
and mostly brown on the right. Several bright stars are visible, and
many filaments run through, in particular on brown dust filamnents on
the image right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Orion: The Running Man Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons (Robservatory)

Explanation: What part of Orion is this? Just north of the famous Orion
Nebula is a picturesque star forming region in Orion's Sword that
contains a lot of intricate dust -- some of which appears blue because
it reflects the light of bright embedded stars. The region's popular
name is the Running Man Nebula because, looked at from the right, part
of the brown dust appears to be running legs. Cataloged as Sharpless
279, the reflection nebula is not only part of the constellation of
Orion, but part of the greater Orion molecular cloud complex. Light
from the Running Man's bright stars, including 42 Orionis, the bright
star closest to the featured image center, is slowly destroying and
reshaping the surrounding dust, which will likely be completely gone in
about 10 million years. The nebula spans about 15 light years and lies
about 1,500 light years away.

Jigsaw Nebula: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: spider webb
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 3
A dense starfield surrounds a blue and red nebula that stretches from
the lower left to the upper right. The outer parts of the nebula are
blue and filamentary, while the innermost part is red and bright.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Red Spider Planetary Nebula from Webb
Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (RIT)

Explanation: Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The
Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result
when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf
star. Officially tagged NGC 6537, this two-lobed symmetric planetary
nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably
as part of a binary star system. Internal winds flowing out from the
central stars, have been measured in excess of 1,000 kilometers per
second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls,
and cause waves of hot gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these
colliding shocks radiate light shown in the featured false-color
infrared picture by the James Webb Space Telescope. The Red Spider
Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). Its
distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about
4,000 light-years.

Tomorrow's picture: ringing galaxy
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 4
A spiral galaxy is shown that seems to have rings in place of spiral
arms. The outer ring is blue and filled with stars, while the inner
ring is more red. The center has a vertical bar. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: Wide Field
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern

Explanation: Most galaxies don't have any rings -- why does this galaxy
have three? To begin, a ring that's near NGC 1512's center -- and so
hard to see here -- is the nuclear ring which glows brightly with
recently formed stars. Next out is a ring of stars and dust appearing
both red and blue, called, counter-intuitively, the inner ring. This
inner ring connects ends of a diffuse central bar of stars that runs
horizontally across the galaxy. Farthest out in this wide field image
is a ragged structure that might be considered an outer ring. This
outer ring appears spiral-like and is dotted with clusters of bright
blue stars. All these ring structures are thought to be affected by NGC
1512's own gravitational asymmetries in a drawn-out process called
secular evolution. The featured image was captured last month from a
telescope at Deep Sky Chile in Chile.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 5

NGC 1275 in the Perseus Cluster
Image Credit & Copyright: Michal Wierzbinski, Hellas-Sky

Explanation: Active galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of
the large and relatively nearby Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a
prodigious source of x-rays and radio emission. NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately feeding a
supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core. Narrowband image data
used in this sharp telescopic image highlights the resulting galactic
debris and filaments of glowing gas, some up to 20,000 light-years
long. The filaments persist in NGC 1275, even though the turmoil of
galactic collisions should destroy them. What keeps the filaments
together? Observations indicate that the structures, pushed out from
the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are held together by
magnetic fields. Also known as Perseus A, NGC 1275 itself spans over
100,000 light years and lies about 230 million light years away.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 6

Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; D. Milisavljevic (Purdue
University), T. Temim (Princeton University), I. De Looze (University
of Gent)

Explanation: Massive stars in our Milky Way Galaxy live spectacular
lives. Collapsing from vast cosmic clouds, their nuclear furnaces
ignite and create heavy elements in their cores. After only a few
million years for the most massive stars, the enriched material is
blasted back into interstellar space where star formation can begin
anew. The expanding debris cloud known as Cassiopeia A is an example of
this final phase of the stellar life cycle. Light from the supernova
explosion that created this remnant would have been first seen in
planet Earth's sky about 350 years ago, although it took that light
11,000 years to reach us. This sharp NIRCam image from the James Webb
Space Telescope shows the still-hot filaments and knots in the
supernova remnant. The whitish, smoke-like outer shell of the expanding
blast wave is about 20 light-years across. A series of light echoes
from the massive star's cataclysmic explosion are also identified in
Webb's detailed images of the surrounding interstellar medium.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 7

Crescent Enceladus
Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA

Explanation: Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of
tantalizing inner moon Enceladus poses in this Cassini spacecraft
image. North is up in the dramatic scene captured during November 2016
as Cassini's camera was pointed in a nearly sunward direction about
130,000 kilometers from the moon's bright crescent. In fact, the
distant world reflects over 90 percent of the sunlight it receives,
giving its surface about the same reflectivity as fresh snow. A mere
500 kilometers in diameter, Enceladus is a surprisingly active moon.
Data and images collected during Cassini's flybys have revealed water
vapor and ice grains spewing from south polar geysers and evidence of
an ocean of liquid water hidden beneath the moon's icy crust.

Tomorrow's picture: Sun spotted
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
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NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 8
Most of the Sun is pictured peeking over a hill. On the surface of the
Sun are several sunspots including a very large sunspot region toward
the center-right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Active Sunspot Region 4366 Crosses the Sun
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona

Explanation: An unusually active sunspot region is now crossing the
Sun. The region, labelled AR 4366, is much larger than the Earth and
has produced several powerful solar flares over the past ten days. In
the featured image, the region is marked by large and dark sunspots
toward the upper right of the Sun's disk. The image captured the Sun
over a hill in Zacatecas, Mexico, 5 days ago. AR 4366 has become a
candidate for the most active solar region in this entire 11-year solar
cycle. Active solar regions are frequently associated with increased
auroral activity on the Earth. Now reaching the edge, AR 4366 will
begin facing away from the Earth during the coming week. It is not
known, though, if the active region will survive long enough to
reappear in about two weeks' time, as the Sun rotates.

Tomorrow's picture: groovy Miranda
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
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NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 9
An unusual gray body looks like a more jaggged version of the Earth's
moon, but close up. Craters and stripes run across much of the surface.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Miranda Revisited
Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Voyager 2; Processing & License: Flickr:
zelario12; Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: What is Miranda really like? Visually, old images from
NASA's Voyager 2 have been recently combined and remastered to result
in the featured image of Uranus's 500-kilometer-wide moon. In the late
1980s, Voyager 2 flew by Uranus, coming close to the cratered,
fractured, and unusually grooved moon -- named after a character from
ShakespeareCÇÖs The Tempest. Scientifically, planetary scientists are
using old data and clear images to theorize anew about what shaped
Miranda's severe surface features. A leading hypothesis is that
Miranda, beneath its icy surface, may have once hosted an expansive
liquid water ocean which may be slowly freezing. Thanks to the legacy
of Voyager 2, Miranda has joined the ranks of Europa, Titan, and other
icy moons in the search for water, and, possibly, microbial life, in
our Solar System.

Jigsaw Moon: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: swirling sky
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 10
A person with the arms raised stands atop of a rock peak covered in
snow. Snow covered mountains are all around. Green aurora swirl
overhead and reflect off the snow. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.

In Green Company: Aurora over Norway
Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive

Explanation: Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those
instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the
third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only
cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went
high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the creative
featured image was captured as a composite from three separate
exposures. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden (a fjord)
close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern
Norway. The year was 2014. This year, our Sun is just passing solar
maximum, the peak in its 11-year surface activity cycle. As expected,
some spectacular auroras have recently resulted.

Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: sun spotted
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 11
An image of the Sun is surrounded by 12 smaller Sun images. Each
surrounding image has some spots on it, but the large central image has
the most dark spots. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

A Year of Sunspots
Image Credit: NASA, SDO; Processing & Copyright: +Penol +Panli & U-fur
-#kizler; Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: How many sunspots can you see? The central image shows the
many sunspots that occurred in 2025, month by month around the circle,
and all together in the grand central image. Each sunspot is
magnetically cooled and so appears dark -- and can last from days to
months. Although the featured images originated from NASA's Solar
Dynamics Observatory, sunspots can be easily seen with a small
telescope or binoculars equipped with a solar filter. Very large
sunspot groups like recent AR 4366 can even be seen with eclipse
glasses. Sunspots are still counted by eye, but the total number is not
considered exact because they frequently change and break up. Last
year, 2025, coincided with a solar maximum, the period of most intense
magnetic activity during its 11-year solar cycle. Our Sun remains
unpredictable in many ways, including when it ejects solar flares that
will impact the Earth, and how active the next solar cycle will be.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 12

The Bay of Rainbows
Image Credit & Copyright: Olaf Filzinger

Explanation: Dark, smooth regions that cover the Moon's familiar face
are called by Latin names for oceans and seas. That naming convention
is historical, though it may seem a little ironic to denizens of the
space age who recognize the Moon as a mostly dry and airless world, and
the smooth, dark areas as lava-flooded impact basins. For example, this
telescopic lunar vista, looks over the expanse of the northwestern Mare
Imbrium, or Sea of Rains and into the Sinus Iridum, the Bay of
Rainbows. Ringed by the Jura Mountains (montes), the bay is about 250
kilometers across. Seen after local sunrise, the mountains form part of
the Sinus Iridum impact crater wall. Their rugged sunlit arc is bounded
at the top by Cape (promontorium) Laplace reaching nearly 3,000 meters
above the bay's surface. At the bottom of the arc is Cape Heraclides,
depicted by Giovanni Cassini in his 1679 telescope-based drawings
mapping the moon as a moon maiden seen in profile with long, flowing
hair.

Tomorrow's picture: friends of Andromeda
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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NASA Science Activation
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 13

NGC 147 and NGC 185
Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub

Explanation: Dwarf galaxies NGC 147 (left) and NGC 185 stand side by
side in this deep telescopic portrait. The two are not-often-imaged
satellite galaxies of M31, the great spiral Andromeda Galaxy, some 2.5
million light-years away. Their separation on the sky, less than one
degree across a pretty field of view toward the constellation
Cassiopeia, translates to only about 35 thousand light-years at
Andromeda's distance, but Andromeda itself is found well outside this
frame. Brighter and more famous satellite galaxies of Andromeda, M32
and M110, are seen much closer to the great spiral. NGC 147 and NGC 185
have been identified as binary galaxies, forming a gravitationally
stable binary system. But recently discovered faint dwarf galaxy
Cassiopeia II also seems to be part of their system, forming a
gravitationally bound group within Andromeda's intriguing population of
small satellite galaxies.

Tomorrow's picture: floral arrangement
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 14

Roses are Red
Image Credit & Copyright: Raffaele Calcagno
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: Roses are red, nebulas are too, and this Valentine's gift
is a stunning view! Pictured is a loving look at the Rosette Nebula
(NGC 2237): a cosmic bloom of bright young stars sitting atop a stem of
glowing hot gas. The roseCÇÖs blue-white speckles are among the most
luminous stars in the galaxy, with some burning millions of times
brighter than the Sun. Their stellar winds sculpt the famed rose shape
by pushing gas and dust away from the center. Though only a few million
years old, these massive stars are already nearing the end of their
lives, while dimmer stars embedded in the nebula will burn for billions
of years to come. The vibrant red hue comes from hydrogen gas, ionized
by the ultraviolet light from the young stars. The roseCÇÖs blue-white
center is color-mapped to indicate the presence of similarly ionized
oxygen. The Rosette Nebula reminds us of the beauty and transformation
woven into the fabric of the universe.

Tomorrow's picture: flying free
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 15
An astronaut is seen hovering over the Earth. In the top part of the
image, the astronaut is seen against the darkness of space. In the
lower part of the image, the Earth is bright blue with white clouds.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

To Fly Free in Space
Image Credit: NASA, STS-41B

Explanation: What would it be like to fly free in space? About 100
meters from the cargo bay of a space shuttle, Bruce McCandless II was
living the dream -- floating farther out than anyone had ever been
before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), astronaut
McCandless, pictured, was floating free in space. During Space Shuttle
mission 41-B in 1984, McCandless and fellow NASA astronaut Robert
Stewart were the first to experience such an "untethered space walk".
The MMU worked by shooting jets of nitrogen and was used to help deploy
and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is
heavy on Earth, but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in
orbit. The MMU was later replaced with the SAFER backpack propulsion
unit.

Tomorrow's picture: unexplained shocks
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 16
A star field shows colorful pill-shaped nebula extending from the
bottom left toward the upper right. Colors include, from the outside
in, red, green, and blue. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Unexplained Shocks Around a White Dwarf Star
Image Credit: ESO, K. I+ékiewicz & S. Scaringi et al.;
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: How is RXJ0528+2838 creating such shock waves? A recently
discovered white dwarf star, the farther left of the two largest white
spots, RXJ0528+2838, was found 730 light-years away from Earth. Most
stars, when done fusing nuclei in their cores for energy, become red
giant stars, the cores of which live on as faint dense white dwarfs
that slowly cool down for the rest of time. White dwarfs are so dense
that the only thing that stops them from collapsing further is quantum
mechanics. In about 5 billion years, our Sun will become a white dwarf,
too. The featured image, obtained with the European Southern
ObservatoryCÇÖs Very Large Telescope, shows unexplained bow shocks around
RXJ0528+2838, similar to the bow wave of water around a fast-moving
ship. Astronomers donCÇÖt yet know what is powering these shocks, which
have existed for at least 1,000 years. The red, green and blue colors
represent trace amounts of glowing hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen gas.

Open Science: Browse 3,900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code
Library
Tomorrow's picture: passing comet
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 17
A star field shows a bright comet with its head on the lower left and
tails extending toward the upper right. A background galaxy is visible
on the far right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Tails of Comet Wierzcho+ø
Image Credit & Copyright: Jos+¬ J. Chamb+|;
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: Some comets are regular guests of our solar neighborhood;
others come by only once, never to return. We wonCÇÖt have another chance
to see Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzcho+ø), which is currently making its way
through the inner Solar System. The hyperbolic orbit of this comet
indicates that it will likely become an interstellar traveler. Comet
Wierzcho+ø is today near its closest approach to the Earth, passing
roughly the same distance from the Earth as is the Sun. The featured
30-minute exposure was taken last week in Chile and shows a 5-degree
long ion tail as well as three shorter dust tails. The green hue of the
coma comes from the breakdown of dicarbon molecules by sunlight, but
that process does not last long enough to also tinge the tails. On the
far right lies a spiral galaxy far in the distance: NGC 300.

Tomorrow's picture: cradle alpha
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 18
A starfield is shown filled with red glowing gas. On the right is a
blue-glowing complex nebula, while on the left there is a long
encircling arc of red gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Orion's Cradle
Image Credit & Copyright: Piotr Czerski

Explanation: Cradled in red-glowing hydrogen gas, stars are being born
in Orion. These stellar nurseries lie at the edge of the giant Orion
molecular cloud complex, some 1,500 light-years away. This detailed
view spans about 12 degrees across the center of the well-known
constellation, with the Great Orion Nebula, the closest large
star-forming region, visible toward the lower right. The deep mosaic
also includes, near the top center, the Flame Nebula and the Horsehead
Nebula. Image data acquired with a hydrogen-alpha filter adds other
remarkable features to this wide-angle cosmic vista: pervasive tendrils
of energized atomic hydrogen gas and portions of the surrounding
Barnard's Loop. While the Orion Nebula and many stars in Orion are easy
to see with the unaided eye, emission from the extensive interstellar
gas is faint and much harder to record, even in telescopic views of the
nebula-rich complex.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 19

IC 2574: Coddington's Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Dane Vetter

Explanation: Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory,
flaunting their young, bright, blue star clusters in beautiful,
symmetric spiral arms. But small, irregular galaxies form stars too. In
fact, dwarf galaxy IC 2574 shows clear evidence of intense star forming
activity in its telltale reddish regions of glowing hydrogen gas. Just
as in spiral galaxies, the turbulent star-forming regions in IC 2574
are churned by stellar winds and supernova explosions spewing material
into the galaxy's interstellar medium and triggering further star
formation. A mere 12 million light-years distant, IC 2574 is part of
the M81 group of galaxies, seen toward the northern constellation Ursa
Major. Also known as Coddington's Nebula, the faint but intriguing
island universe is about 50,000 light-years across, discovered by
American astronomer Edwin Coddington in 1898.

Tomorrow's picture: in the dark
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 20
A starfield with a light, orange-tinged background has a dark nebula
that looks like a flying ghost visible near the middle. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

B93: A Dark Interstellar Ghost
Image Credit & Copyright: Christian Bertincourt; Text: Keighley
Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: "A ghost in the Milky WayCǪCÇØ says Christian Bertincourt,
the astrophotographer behind this striking image of Barnard 93 (B93).
The 93rd entry in BarnardCÇÖs Catalogue of Dark Nebulae, B93 lies within
the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24), where its darkness
stands in stark contrast to bright stars and gas in the background. In
some ways, B93 is really like a ghost, because it contains gas and dust
that was dispersed by the deaths of stars, like supernovas. B93 appears
as a dark void not because it is empty, but because its dust blocks the
light emitted by more distant stars and glowing gas. Like other dark
nebulas, some gas from B93, if dense and massive enough, will
eventually gravitationally condense to form new stars. If so, then once
these stars ignite, B93 will transform from a dark ghost into a
brilliant cradle of newborn stars.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 21

Twilight with Moon and Planets
Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel (TWAN)

Explanation: Only two days after the February New Moon's annular
eclipse of the Sun, a slender lunar crescent poses near the western
horizon in this wintry twilight skyscape. Its nightside faintly
illuminated by earthshine, the young Moon is joined by three bright
planets in the mostly clear, early evening skies above the village of
Kirazli, Turkiye. Inner planet Venus appears closest to the horizon.
Near the beginning of its 2026 performance as planet Earth's evening
star, brilliant Venus is seen through the warm sunset glare near
picture center. Straight above Venus, innermost planet Mercury is easy
to spot as it stands remarkably high above the horizon even as the
twilight sky is growing dark. Outer planet Saturn, most distant of the
naked-eye planets, is found just left of the Moon's sunlit crescent.

Tomorrow's picture: robots on Mars
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 22
A black and white image shows an unusual landscape with a bright ridge
across the top and texture like small sand dunes. The shadow of
something unusual dominates the image center. Wheels are visible at the
bottom of the image. near the middle. Please see the explanation for
more detailed information.

Shadow of a Martian Robot
Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Mars Exploration Rover Mission

Explanation: What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human?
Then you might be the Opportunity rover exploring Mars. Opportunity
explored the Red Planet from 2004 to 2018, finding evidence of ancient
water, and sending breathtaking images across the inner Solar System.
Pictured here in 2004, Opportunity looks opposite the Sun into
Endurance Crater and sees its own shadow. Two wheels are visible on the
lower left and right, while the floor and walls of the unusual crater
are visible in the background. Caught in a dust storm in 2018,
Opportunity stopped responding, and NASA stopped trying to contact it
in 2019 and declared the ground-breaking mission, originally planned
for only 92 days, complete.

Tomorrow's picture: dust blue
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 23
A cluster of blue stars is seen against a starfield of brown and clumpy
dust. The stars illuminate some of the nearby dust which causes the
dust to glow blue. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster
Image Credit & Copyright: Kamil Fiedosiuk

Explanation: Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you
have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this.
Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of
the Pleiades can be seen with the unaided eye even from the depths of a
light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though,
the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very
evident. The featured 18-hour exposure, taken from Bory Tucholskie,
Poland covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also
known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light
years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common
legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded
since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars
visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars
visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the
darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's
eyesight.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: opera planets
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 24
The featured image shows four planets lined up behind the Sydney Opera
House in Australia. The image was taken one morning in April 2022, just
before sunrise. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Planet Parade over Sydney Opera House
Image Credit & Copyright: Prasun Agrawal

Explanation: Look up this week and see a whole bunch of planets. Just
after sunset, looking west (mostly), planets Mercury, Venus, Saturn,
and Jupiter will all be visible to the unaided eye simultaneously. If
you have a telescope, planets Uranus and Neptune can also be seen. In
order up from the horizon, the lineup this week will be Venus (the
brightest), Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter (second
brightest). It doesn't matter where on Earth you live because this
early evening planet parade will be visible through clear skies all
around the globe. The planets will appear to be nearly in a line
because they all orbit the Sun in nearly the same plane: the ecliptic.
The featured image shows a similar planet parade that occurred in 2022,
captured over the Sydney Opera House in southern Australia. Although
visible all week, the planets will be most easily seen together this
weekend.

Tomorrow's picture: space egg
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
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& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 25
A starfield is shown with an unusual orange object in the center.
Surrounding this object are blue rings and four thick jets. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

The Egg Nebula from the Hubble Telescope
Image Credit & Copyright: ESA/Hubble & NASA, B. Balick (U. Washington)

Explanation: Ever wonder what it would look like to crack open the Sun?
The Egg Nebula, a dying Sun-like star, can unscramble this question.
Pictured is a combination of several visible and infrared images of the
nebula (also known as RAFGL 2688 or CRL 2688) taken with the Hubble
Space Telescope. The star has shed its outer layers, and a bright, hot
core (or "yolk") now illuminates the milky "egg white" shells of gas
and dust surrounding the center. The central lobes and rings are
structures of gas and dust recently ejected into space, with the dust
being dense enough to block our view of the stellar core. Light beams
emanate from that blocked core, escaping through holes carved in the
older ejected material by newer, faster jets expelled from the starCÇÖs
poles. Astronomers are still trying to figure out what causes the
disks, lobes, and jets during this short (only a few thousand years!)
phase of the starCÇÖs evolution, making this an egg-cellent image to
study!

Tomorrow's picture: spiral webb
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 26

Webb and Hubble: IC 5332
Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-JWST and
PHANGS-HST Teams
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: What does the universe look like through infrared goggles?
Our eyes can only see visible light, but astronomers want to see more.
TodayCÇÖs APOD shows spiral galaxy IC 5332 as seen by two NASA
telescopes: Webb in mid-infrared and Hubble in ultraviolet and visible
light. To toggle between the two space-based views just slide your
cursor over the image (or follow this link). The Hubble image
highlights the spiral arms of the galaxy separated by dark regions,
whereas the Webb image reveals a finer, more tangled structure.
Interstellar dust scatters and absorbs light from the stars in the
galaxy, causing the dark dust lanes in the Hubble image, and then emits
heat in infrared light, so dust glows in this Webb image. The
Mid-InfraRed Instrument on Webb needs to operate at a chilling
temperature of -266+|C (or - 447+|F), otherwise it would detect infrared
radiation from the telescope itself. Combining these observations,
astronomers connect the CÇ£small scaleCÇØ of gas and stars to the truly
large scale of galactic structure and evolution.

Tomorrow's picture: invertebrates in space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 27

Sharpless 249 and the Jellyfish Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Katelyn Beecroft

Explanation: Normally faint and elusive, the Jellyfish Nebula is caught
in this alluring telescopic field of view. Floating in the interstellar
sea, the nebula is anchored right and left by two bright stars, Mu and
Eta Geminorum, at the foot of the celestial twins. The Jellyfish Nebula
itself is right of center, seen as a brighter arcing ridge of emission
with dangling tentacles. In fact, this cosmic jellyfish is part of
bubble-shaped supernova remnant IC 443, the expanding debris cloud from
a massive star that exploded. Light from the explosion first reached
planet Earth over 30,000 years ago. Like its cousin in astrophysical
waters the Crab Nebula supernova remnant, the Jellyfish Nebula is known
to harbor a neutron star, the ultradense remnant of the collapsed
stellar core. An emission nebula cataloged as Sharpless 249 fills the
field at the upper left. The Jellyfish Nebula is about 5,000
light-years away. At that distance, this image would be about 300
light-years across.

Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 February 28

Lunar Occultation of Mercury
Image Credit & Copyright: Fabrizio Melandri

Explanation: Fans of the western sky after sunset have lately enjoyed
this month's remarkable array of bright planets. Witnessed from some
locations, on February 18 planet Mercury even appeared to slide behind
the Moon, an event known as a lunar occultation. These two snapshots,
taken in early evening skies show before and after telescopic views of
the rare disappearance of innermost planet behind young Moon. The top
panel finds bright Mercury just visible at the northern (right) edge of
the earthshine-illuminated lunar disk. In the bottom panel the bright
planet has emerged in darker skies beyond the Moon's sunlit crescent.
As seen south of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, planet Earth, this lunar
occultation of Mercury lasted only about 3 minutes (video). But you can
still check out a parade of planets tonight.

March 3: Total Lunar Eclipse
Tomorrow's picture: moon dark
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 1

The Moon During a Total Lunar Eclipse
Video Credit: Wang Letian & Zhang Jiajie

Explanation: How does the Moon's appearance change during a total lunar
eclipse? The featured time-lapse video was digitally processed to keep
the Moon bright and centered during the 5-hour eclipse of 2018 January
31. At first the full moon is visible because only a full moon can
undergo a lunar eclipse. Stars move by in the background because the
Moon orbits the Earth during the eclipse. The circular shadow of the
Earth is then seen moving across the Moon. The light blue hue of the
shadow's edge is related to why Earth's sky is blue, while the deep red
hue of the shadow's center is related to why the Sun appears red when
near the horizon. Tomorrow night, people living in Eastern Asia,
Australia, and much of North America may get to see a Total Blood Moon
Lunar Eclipse. Here the term blood refers to the (likely) red color of
a fully eclipsed Moon.

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: Orion's dust
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 2
The featured image shows a dusty starfield with intricate dust
filaments all over. Red, blue, and brown nebulas will the field. Please
see the explanation for more detailed information.

The Dusty Surroundings of Orion and the Pleiades
Image Credit & Copyright: Ignacio Fern+índez

Explanation: How well do you know the night sky? OK, but how well can
you identify famous sky objects in a very deep image? Either way, here
is a test: see if you can find some well-known night-sky icons in a
deep image filled with filaments of normally faint dust and gas. This
image contains the Pleiades star cluster, Barnard's Loop, Orion Nebula,
Aldebaran, Betelgeuse, Witch Head Nebula, Eridanus Loop, and the
California Nebula. To find their real locations, here is an annotated
image version. The reason this task might be difficult is similar to
the reason it is initially hard to identify familiar constellations in
a very dark sky: the tapestry of our night sky has an extremely deep
hidden complexity. The featured composite reveals some of this
complexity in a 16 hours of sky exposure in dark skies over Granada,
Spain.

Tonight: Total Lunar Eclipse
Tomorrow's picture: over Mars
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 3

Flying over the North Pole of Mars
Video Credit: ESA, Mars Express, VMC; Processing & License: Simeon
Schmau+f

Explanation: If you could fly over the North Pole of Mars, what would
you see? Images from ESACÇÖs Mars Express mission in 2019 were compiled
into the featured video which shows just such a trip. First you see
below you a landscape tinted orange by rusted iron in the fine soil,
with some land appearing darker due to exposed rock. Soon the northern
polar cap comes into view, mostly white because of its reflective
frozen water. Surrounding the polar cap is the North Polar Basin, a
layered depression covered with dust and sand. The frames in the
featured video were captured during northern Martian Spring when the
carbon-dioxide ice is evaporating, leaving the underlying water-ice in
the cap. Mars Express continues to study the Martian surface and look
for clues about the Red Planet's ancient climate and potential for
life.

Tomorrow's picture: Space Eye
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 4
A starfield is shown with a large circular blue ring in the center. In
the ring's center is a bright blue spot. Please see the explanation for
more detailed information.

Shapley 1: An Annular Planetary Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Bresseler; Text: Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: WhatCÇÖs looking back at you isnCÇÖt a cosmic eye, but Shapley
1, a beautifully symmetric planetary nebula. Shapley 1, also known as
the Fine Ring Nebula or PLN 329+2.1, bejewels the southern sky
constellation of the Carpenter's Square (Norma). The nebula is the
result of a star near the mass of our Sun running out of fuel and
shedding its outer layers. Glowing oxygen from those expelled layers
makes up the circular halo. The bright central point is actually a
binary: a white dwarf, the remaining stellar core after the outer
layers are expelled into space, and another star, orbiting each other
every 2.9 days. Shapley 1CÇÖs annular shape is due to our top-down view
of the system and provides insight into the influence of central stars
on planetary nebula structures.

Tomorrow's picture: sun bubbling
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 5
A desert landscape with a large volcanic land feature jutting out in
the center. Above is a series of eclipse phases of the moon traveling
from the top left downward toward the peak of the central volcanic
landmark. The phases show the moon transitioning from a white full moon
to a dark moon and into a red moon once it connects with the landmark
in the image. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
resolution version available.

Total Lunar Eclipse over Ts+¬ Bit'a'+¡
Image Credit & Copyright: Satoru Murata; Text: Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: Earlier this week, EarthCÇÖs shadow swept across the full
Moon in the yearCÇÖs only total lunar eclipse. This stunning sequence
combines images showing the MoonCÇÖs path across the night sky. Each
lunar image captures our planetCÇÖs shadow gradually engulfing the Moon,
culminating in its red glow. Sunlight scatters and refracts as it
passes through EarthCÇÖs atmosphere toward the Moon. Shorter wavelength
light (blue and green) scatters more efficiently, leaving red, orange,
and yellow hues to paint the lunar surface. Ts+¬ Bit'a'+¡ (CÇØrock with
wingsCÇØ, also known as Shiprock), located in Navajo Nation, provides a
powerful volcanic foreground central to this photo and to stories of
Navajo origin, adventure, and heroism. As the first full moon of the
lunar new year, this eclipse held significance across cultures. Visible
from East Asia to North America, this eclipse united observers across
great distances, a cosmic reminder that we share the same sky.

Tomorrow's picture: astrosphere
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 6

The Astrosphere of HD 61005
Image Credit: X-ray: NASA / CXC / Johns Hopkins Univ. / C.M. Lisse et
al.; Infrared: NASA / ESA / STIS; Optical: NSF / NoirLab / CTIO /
DECaPS2
Processing: NASA / CXC / SAO / N. Wolk - Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA
GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: Do young stars blow bubbles? The larger view shows a
stellar field observed with the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory
in Chile, and the inset highlights HD 61005, a star like our Sun, only
120 light-years away. Much younger than the Sun, at just about 100
million years old, it blows a fast and dense stellar wind that pushes
out the cooler dust and gas that surrounds it, forming a bubble called
an astrosphere. The star-blown bubble was detected with the Chandra
X-ray Observatory, and it has a diameter roughly 200 times the
Earth-Sun distance. Our Sun has a bubble too, called the heliosphere,
which protects the planets from cosmic radiation. Also shown in the
inset is debris left behind from star formation, observed by Hubble.
The debris appears as wings, giving the star its nickname: the Moth.

Tomorrow's picture: Saros 133
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 7

Two Eclipses of Saros 133
Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel (TWAN), Petr Horalek / Institute
of Physics in Opava / KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA

Explanation: Centered on maximum eclipse, these two total lunar eclipse
sequences look almost identical. Yet the one shown on top is composed
of images recorded in February 2008, while at the bottom is the recent
March 2026 total eclipse of the Moon. Why are they so similar? Because
these two total lunar eclipses are from the same Saros cycle. The Saros
cycle was discovered historically from observations of the Moon's
orbit. With a period of 18 years, 11 and 1/3 days, the cycle predicts
when the Sun, Earth, and Moon all return to the same relative geometry
for a lunar (or solar) eclipse. Eclipses separated by one Saros period
belong to the same numbered Saros series, in this case Saros 133. So
expect the next lunar eclipse in Saros 133 to be a repeat of this
year's March 3 eclipse. You can watch the next Saros 133 total lunar
eclipse on March 13, 2044.

Growing Gallery: Total Lunar Eclipse of March 3
Tomorrow's picture: aurora arbor borealis
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 8
A leafless tree is pictured below a starry sky. In the sky behind the
tree is an aurora glowing mostly green but with some purple. The shape
of the aurora seems to follow the branches of the tree. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

The Aurora Tree
Image Credit & Copyright: Alyn Wallace

Explanation: Yes, but can your tree do this? Pictured is a visual
coincidence between the dark branches of a nearby tree and bright glow
of a distant aurora. The beauty of the aurora -- combined with how it
seemed to mimic a tree right nearby -- mesmerized the photographer to
such a degree that he momentarily forgot to take pictures. When viewed
at the right angle, it seemed that this tree had aurora for leaves.
Fortunately, before the aurora morphed into a different overall shape,
he came to his senses and captured the awe-inspiring momentary
coincidence. Typically triggered by solar explosions, aurora are caused
by high energy electrons impacting the Earth's atmosphere around 150
kilometers up. The unusual Earth-sky collaboration was witnessed in
March of 2017 in Iceland.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: big brained
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 9
The featured image shows a starfield surrounding a nebula that
resembles the human brain. A blue outer oval has a bright nebulosity
inside. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

The Cranium Nebula from the Webb Telescope
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

Explanation: What's going on inside the head of this nebula? Dubbed the
Exposed Cranium Nebula for its similarity to the human brain, what
created the nebula remains a mystery. One thought is that the Cranium
Nebula, also known as PMR 1, is a planetary nebula surrounding a white
dwarf star. In this mode, the outer atmosphere was expelled when the
original Sun-like star ran out of central nuclear fuel and contracted.
A competing thought is that the central star is much more massive,
possibly a Wolf-Rayet star, that is ejecting gas and dust via turbulent
stellar winds. Adding to the intrigue is the dark vertical central
division and the thin outer gaseous shell. The featured image was taken
by the Webb Space Telescope in mid- infrared light, while a second
image, included as a rollover, is in near-infrared. Future observations
may reveal if this brainy system will quietly just fade from view or,
many years from now, suddenly erupt in a powerful supernova.

Tomorrow's picture: telescope lasers
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 10
A colorful sky appears above several large telescopes. Prominent in the
sky is the band of the Milky Way Galaxy which arches across the frame.
Orange laser beams connect one of the telescopes to the sky on the
image right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Sky Glows over Paranal Observatory
Image Credit & Copyright: Julien Looten

Explanation: Are lasers from giant telescopes being used to defend the
Earth? No. Lasers shot from telescopes are now commonly used to help
increase the accuracy of astronomical observations. In some directions,
Earth atmosphere-induced fluctuations in starlight can indicate how the
air mass over a telescope is changing, but in other directions, no
bright star exists. In these directions, astronomers can create an
artificial star with a laser. Subsequent observations of the artificial
laser guide star can reveal information so detailed about the changing
blurring effects of the Earth's atmosphere that much of it can be
removed by rapidly flexing a telescope's mirror. Such adaptive optics
techniques allow high-resolution ground-based observations of real
stars, planets, and nebulas. Pictured here, telescopes at Paranal
Observatory in Chile study a colorful sky filled with green airglow and
the Magellanic Clouds on the left, red airglow on the right, and the
majestic central band of our Milky Way Galaxy arching across the
center.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 11
A cometary globule extends in front of a field of stars, showing what
seems like an open mouth towards a distant galaxy in the background.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

CG 4: The Globule and the Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: William Vrbasso
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: Is this a cosmic monster ready to devour an unsuspecting
galaxy? Thankfully, that is not the case. The red CÇ£monsterCÇØ shown in
the featured image is Cometary Globule CG 4, 1,300 light-years away in
the Constellation Puppis. CG 4 is a molecular cloud, where hydrogen
becomes cold enough to form molecules that can be brought together by
gravity to create stars. The shape of CG 4 resembles that of a comet,
but its head is 1.5 light-year in diameter and its tail is 8
light-years long; for comparison, the distance from the Earth to the
sun is only 8 light-minutes. Astronomers believe that the tail of a
cometary globule could have been shaped by a nearby supernova explosion
or by irradiation from hot, massive stars. Indeed, CG 4 and other
nearby globules point away from the Vela Supernova Remnant, at the
center of the Gum Nebula. The edge-on spiral galaxy, ESO 257-19, is
more than a hundred million light-years beyond CG 4, and is completely
safe from the CÇ£monsterCÇØ.

Tomorrow's picture: Uranus
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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n.'n.'

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 12

A Near-Full Rotation of Uranus
Video Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M.
Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: For the first time we are witnessing outer planet Uranus
take center stage and pirouette. Uranus is one of the Solar System s
strangest planets, laying on its side and spinning like a rotisserie
chicken. The featured video is composed of over 1000 spectra taken over
15 hours of continuous viewing by JWST's NIRSpec instrument while
Uranus rotates. The data captures the behavior of Uranus s ionosphere:
the ionized layer of a planet s atmosphere that strongly interacts with
the planet's magnetic field. The aurora s rosy glow traces the complex
interplay between Uranus's misaligned rotation and magnetic axes.
Clouds can be seen as bright spots traveling across the ice giant. The
blue-to-red colors represent low-to-high altitudes, showing a brand new
three-dimensional view into how energy is distributed throughout the
planet s atmosphere. In the image on the left, everything is framed by
the rings of Uranus. This is the most detailed look into the atmosphere
of Uranus achieved yet!

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: happy trails
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 13

Toolondo Totality Trails
Image Credit & Copyright: Jason Perry

Explanation: In this composited night skyscape, stacked exposures trace
graceful star trails above Lake Toolondo, Victoria, Australia, planet
Earth. Captured while the lunar eclipse of March 3 was in progress, the
exposures used were made during the hour-long total eclipse phase. So
faint star trails are easily visible along with the trail of the
reddened Moon in the eclipse-darkened skies above the lake and trees.
Of course, the apparent motion of Moon and stars revealed in the
timelapse composite reflect the Earth's daily rotation around its axis.
Dramatically punctuating the Moon's trail as totality ended, a single,
separate telephoto image of the totally eclipsed Moon was scaled and
blended into the scene.

Growing Gallery: Total Lunar Eclipse of March 3
Tomorrow's picture: prospective pi planet
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 14

A Year for K2-315b
Artist's Illustration Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle, Christine
Daniloff, MIT

Explanation: Want to visit a planet that has 3.14 days in a year? Then
plan a trip to K2-315b, an earth-sized planet orbiting around a cool,
red, M dwarf star about once every 3.14 days. The exoplanet's
discovery, based on publicly available data from the planet-hunting
Kepler Space Telescope's extended K2 mission, was announced in 2020.
K2-315b's measured orbital period in days is nearly equal to the
extremely popular irrational number Pi. That puts the exoplanet so
close to its parent star that its surface is likely very warm,
baking-hot in fact. And this Pi planet is over 185 light-years away. So
instead of trying to arrange for an interstellar vacation to K2-315b,
there may be easier and more comfortable ways for you to celebrate Pi
day on planet Earth.

Tomorrow's picture: equinox at the pyramid
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 15
A grand Mayan Pyramids is shown below a starry sky highlighted by the
band of the Milky Way and the planets Saturn and Jupiter. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

Equinox at the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent
Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Fedez

Explanation: To see the feathered serpent descend the Mayan pyramid
requires exquisite timing. You must visit El Castillo -- in Mexico's
Yucat+ín Peninsula -- near an equinox. Then, during the late afternoon
if the sky is clear, the pyramid's own shadows create triangles that
merge into the famous illusion of a slithering viper. Also known as the
Temple of Kukulkan, the impressive step-pyramid stands 30 meters tall
and 55 meters wide at the base. Built up as a series of square terraces
by the pre-Columbian civilization between the 9th and 12th century, the
structure can be used as a calendar and is noted for astronomical
alignments. The featured composite image was captured in 2019 with
Jupiter and Saturn straddling the diagonal central band of our Milky
Way galaxy. In a few days another equinox will occur -- not only at
Temple of Kukulc+ín, but all over planet Earth.

Tomorrow's picture: dancing galaxy
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 16
A spiral galaxy fills the frame with a white center in the middle. Two
bright arms spiral out from the center filled with red nebulas along
their spines and surrounded by bright blue star clusters. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

NGC 1566: The Spanish Dancer Galaxy
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti & the LEGUS Team, R.
Chandar

Explanation: If not perfect, then this spiral galaxy is at least one of
the most photogenic. An island universe containing billions of stars
and situated about 40 million light-years away toward the constellation
of the Dolphinfish (Dorado), NGC 1566 presents a gorgeous face-on view.
Classified as a grand design spiral, NGC 1566 shows two prominent and
graceful spiral arms that are traced by bright blue star clusters, red
emission nebulas, and dark cosmic dust lanes. Numerous Hubble Space
Telescope images of NGC 1566 have been taken to study star formation,
supernovas, and the spiral's unusually active center. NGC 1566's
flaring center makes the spiral one of the closest and brightest
Seyfert galaxies, likely housing a central supermassive black hole
wreaking havoc on surrounding stars and gas.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 17

The Tadpoles of IC 410
Image Credit & Copyright: Nico Carver

Explanation: This telescopic close-up shows off the central regions of
otherwise faint emission nebula IC 410, captured under backyard skies.
Presented in a Hubble color palette, the image combines visible
broadband and narrowband data with data from the near-infrared. Below
and right of center are two remarkable inhabitants of the interstellar
pond of gas and dust. the Tadpoles of IC 410. Partly obscured by
foreground dust, the nebula itself surrounds NGC 1893, a young galactic
cluster of stars. Formed in the interstellar cloud a mere 4 million
years ago, the intensely hot, bright cluster stars energize the glowing
gas. But the cosmic tadpoles themselves are composed of denser cooler
gas and dust. Around 10 light-years long they are likely sites of
ongoing star formation. Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation their
heads are outlined by bright ridges of ionized gas while their tails
trail away from the cluster's central young stars. IC 410 lies some
10,000 light-years away, toward the nebula-rich constellation Auriga.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 18
Clouds of gas glow red in the night sky above a dark tree on the
horizon that stands in a meadow. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.

Cygnus and the Solitary Tree
Image Credit & Copyright: 2025 Horacio Lander / AstroHoracio
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: A lone tree stands in a quiet meadow in Guadalajara,
Spain, silhouetted against the Cygnus region rising above like flames
in the night sky. This deep night skyscape is a composite of exposures
that reveals a range of brightness and color human eyes can't quite see
on their own. Spanning over a thousand times the angular size of the
full moon, Cygnus sets the sky afire with active star formation where
clouds of gas and dust collapse under gravity until nuclear fusion
ignites and new stars are born. These stars ionize the surrounding
hydrogen gas, causing it to glow crimson, while tendrils of
interstellar dust absorb some of that light and cast dark shadows
across the sky. Cygnus is a trove of celestial treasures, notably the
Veil, Crescent, and Pelican nebulae, as well as Cygnus X-1, the first
confirmed black hole. Cygnus continues to yield fresh science,
including a new three-dimensional model of the Cygnus Loop made
possible by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: A Jellyfish!
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 19
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch produces a glowing cloud, reminiscent
of a jellyfish. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Launch Plume: SpaceX Jellyfish
Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Seeley
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: Even if you live with your head in the clouds, you wonCÇÖt
find a jellyfish like this one very often. The featured image shows a
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on March
4. The launch happened 52 minutes before sunrise, and the second stage
rocket exhaust plume was high enough in the sky to catch the light of
the rising sun, while the photographer was still in the dark. This
combination of light and shadow, possible at dawn or dusk, makes the
exhaust, mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide, appear as a glowing
cloud. It only looks like it's going down, as the rocket follows the
curvature of the Earth on its way to space. A related effect is the
twilight phenomenon, which causes colorful contrails sometimes mistaken
for UFOs. But, in case you are wondering: real jellyfish were sent to
space by NASA in the 1990s as part of a science experiment.

Tomorrow's picture: day and night
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 20

Spring Equinox at Teide Observatory
Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (Starry Earth, TWAN)

Explanation: The defining astronomical moment of the equinox today is
at 14:46 UTC (March 20). That's when the Sun crosses the celestial
equator moving north in its yearly journey through planet Earth's sky,
marking the beginning of spring for our fair planet in the northern
hemisphere and fall in the southern hemisphere. Then, day and night are
nearly equal around the globe. In fact, both day and nighttime
exposures from a spring equinox at the Observatorio del Teide in
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, are used in this composited skyscape.
Over 1,000 images were taken with a fisheye lens and merged in the
ambitious equinox project. The apparent motion of the Sun setting along
the celestial equator on the equinox date follows the bright linear,
diagonal track from the sequence of daytime exposures taken over 6
hours. After sunset, nighttime exposures recorded startrails, with the
celestial equator as a linear track and concentric arcs circling the
north celestial pole near Polaris at upper right and the south
celestial pole beyond the lower left edge (and below the Teide
horizon). The foreground includes the distant Teide volcano peak and
the observatory's pyramid-shaped solar laboratory building.

Tomorrow's picture: NGC 1300 and Friends
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 21

Galaxies in the River: NGC 1300 and NGC 1297
Image Credit & Copyright: Dietmar Hager, Eric Benson

Explanation: Spiral NGC 1300 and elliptical NGC 1297 are galaxies that
lie on the banks of the southern constellation Eridanus (The River). At
70 million light-years distant or more, both are members of the
Eridanus Galaxy Cluster. About 100,000 light-years across, at lower
left in this sharp, galaxy group photo NGC 1300 is seen face-on with a
prominent central bar and grand, sweeping spiral arms. Like other
spiral galaxies, including our own barred spiral Milky Way Galaxy, NGC
1300 is thought to have a supermassive central black hole. A contrast
in appearance and slightly more distant, NGC 1297 is the roughly
spherical large elliptical galaxy near the top of the frame. With
little active star formation, elliptical galaxies are composed of older
populations of stars and are likely he result of multiple collisions
and mergers with spirals.

Tomorrow's picture: farewell fair planet
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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& Michigan Tech. U.

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 22

Leaving Earth
Video Credit: NASA, JHU Applied Physics Lab, Carnegie Inst. Washington,
MESSENGER

Explanation: What would it look like to leave planet Earth? Such an
event was recorded visually in great detail by the MESSENGER spacecraft
as it swung back past the Earth in 2005 on its way in toward the planet
Mercury. Earth can be seen rotating in this time-lapse video, as it
recedes into the distance. The sunlit half of Earth is so bright that
background stars are not visible. The robotic MESSENGER spacecraft
orbit around Mercury from 2011 to 2015 has conducted the first complete
map of the surface. On occasion, MESSENGER peered back at its home
world. MESSENGER is one of the few things created on the Earth that
will never return. At the end of its mission, MESSENGER was
purposefully crashed into Mercury's surface.

Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: light pillars
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 23
A starry sky appears above a snowy street with a house on the right.
The constellation of Orion is visible on the left. Up from the ground
many pillars of light are seen. Two people stand watching the pillars
on the street in the foreground. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.

Light Pillars and Orion over Mohe
Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN)

Explanation: What's happening at the end of that street? Pictured here
are not auroras but light pillars, a phenomenon typically much closer.
In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun pillar, a column
of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering
ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually,
these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During
freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form
near the ground and are sometimes known as a crystal fog. These small
ice crystals may then reflect not the Sun but ground lights. The
featured image captured not only numerous light pillars but also the
iconic constellation of Orion, and was taken in Mohe, the northernmost
city in China.

Tomorrow's picture: lumpy Earth
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 24

A Gravity Map of Earth
Video Credit: NASA, GSFC, GRACE, SVS

Explanation: Is gravity the same over the surface of the Earth? No --
in some places you will feel slightly heavier than others. The featured
Earth map video shows in colors and exaggerated highs and lows where
the gravitational field of Earth is relatively strong and weak. A low
spot, where you would feel slightly lighter, can be seen just off the
coast of India, in blue, while a relative high occurs in the mountains
of Chile in South America. The cause of these irregularities does not
always follow present surface features. Scientists hypothesize that
other important factors lie in deep underground structures in Earth's
mantle and may be related to the Earth's appearance in the distant
past. The featured map was composed from data taken by NASA's twin
GRACE satellites that orbited the Earth from 2002 to 2017. GRACE mapped
Earth's gravity by carefully tracking tiny changes in the distance
between the two satellites.

Tomorrow's picture: Space Eye
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 25
The plane of the Milky Way shines across the night sky above several
large human statues that face away from the camera.

The Guardians of Rapa Nui beneath the Milky Way
Image Credit and Copyright: Rositsa Dimitrova
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: In the words of today's astrophotographer, Rositsa
Dimitrova, "What have these silent sentinels watched pass across the
sky?" The volcanic mo'ai (meaning statue) of Ahu Tongariki stand guard
over Rapa Nui (Isla de Pascua, Easter Island), a Polynesian island
(annexed by Chile in 1888) located thousands of kilometers off the
coast of South America in the Pacific Ocean. Due to the island's
remoteness, the mo'ai, with their backs to the dark ocean, are able to
gaze upon a clear and vibrant night sky. Pictured, these
larger-than-life statues stare at the bright band of the Milky Way,
partly obscured by interstellar dust and blurred by Earth's clouds.
Under such clear night skies, the Rapa Nui created observatories and
used astronomical observations for navigation, calendar calibration,
celebrations, and more. Images like this one remind us of the
importance of dark skies, protecting the land underneath them, and
preserving the culture that they inspire.

Tomorrow's picture: Gravitational Waves
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 26
218 plots shown on a grid represent all of the mergers of black holes
and neutron stars detected in gravitational waves and reported to date.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Black Holes and Neutron Stars: 218 Mergers and Counting
Image Credit: Ryan Nowicki, Bill Smith & Karan Jani
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: What is the sound of two black holes merging in deep
space? Sound waves don't propagate in vacuum, but gravitational waves
do. In 2015 we were able to "hear" them for the first time and confirm
one of Albert Einstein's theoretical predictions. Each square on the
grid of the featured image represents one of the gravitational wave
detections announced so far by the LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA Collaboration.
These plots show how the binary pair accelerates in their orbit around
each other towards merger: the rising frequency effect is called a
"chirp". Although there are significantly more neutron stars than black
holes, most of the detections are binary black hole mergers. That
happens because black holes are heavier and their signals are louder
and can be seen farther away, resulting in more detections. These
events are rare, and we don't expect to see one close by in our Galaxy
any time soon. But they are happening continuously throughout the
cosmos.

Tomorrow's picture: What's next?
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 27

Hickson 44 in Leo
Image Credit & Copyright: Peter Kennett

Explanation: Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer Paul
Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact groups of galaxies,
now appropriately called Hickson Compact Groups. The four prominent
galaxies seen in this intriguing telescopic skyscape are one such
group, Hickson 44. The Hickson 44 galaxy group is about 100 million
light-years distant, far beyond the foreground Milky Way stars, toward
the northern springtime constellation Leo. The two spiral galaxies in
the center of the image are edge-on NGC 3190 with distinctive, warped
dust lanes, and S-shaped NGC 3187. Along with the bright elliptical,
NGC 3193 (left) they are also known as Arp 316. The spiral toward the
lower right corner is NGC 3185, the 4th member of the Hickson group.
Like other galaxies in Hickson groups, these show signs of distortion
and enhanced star formation, evidence of a gravitational tug of war
that will eventually result in galaxy mergers on a cosmic timescale.
The merger process is now understood to be a normal part of the
evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. For scale, NGC 3190
is about 75,000 light-years across at the estimated distance of Hickson
44.

Tomorrow's picture: reaching extreme altitudes
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 28

Robert Goddard and Nell
Image Credit: Esther Goddard, from the Clark University archive

Explanation: Robert H. Goddard, considered the father of modern
rocketry, was born in Worcester Massachusetts in 1882. As a 16 year
old, Goddard read H.G. Wells' science fiction classic "War Of The
Worlds" and dreamed of space flight. By 1926 he had designed, built,
and flown the world's first liquid fuel rocket. Launched 100 years ago,
on March 16, 1926 from his aunt Effie's farm in Auburn Massachusetts,
the rocket dubbed "Nell", rose to an altitude of 41 feet in a flight
that lasted about 2 1/2 seconds. In this posed photo Goddard stands
next to the 10 foot tall rocket, holding the launch stand frame. To
achieve a stable flight without the need for fins, the rocket's heavy
motor was located at the top, fed by lines from liquid oxygen and
gasoline fuel tanks at the bottom. Widely recognized as a gifted
experimenter and engineering genius, his rockets were many years ahead
of their time. Goddard was awarded over 200 patents in rocket
technology, most of them after his death in 1945. A liquid fuel rocket
constructed on principles developed by Goddard landed humans on the
Moon in 1969.

Tomorrow's picture: a message from Earth
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 29
A highly pixelated image is shown with multiple colors on a pixelated
black background. Several identifiable icons are included like a human
and a telescope disk. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

A Message from Earth
Image Credit: Frank Drake et al., Arecibo Observatory;
License: Arne Nordmann (Wikimedia)

Explanation: What are these Earthlings trying to tell us? The featured
message was broadcast from Earth towards the globular star cluster M13
in 1974. During the dedication of an upgrade to the Arecibo Observatory
- then the largest single radio telescope in the world - a string of
1's and 0's representing the diagram was sent. This attempt at
extraterrestrial communication was mostly ceremonial - humanity
regularly broadcasts radio and television signals out into space
accidentally. Even were this message received, M13 is so far away we
would have to wait almost 50,000 years to hear an answer. The featured
message gives a few simple facts about humanity and its knowledge: from
left to right are numbers from one to ten, atoms including hydrogen and
carbon, some interesting molecules, DNA, a human with description,
basics of our Solar System, and basics of the sending telescope.
Several searches for extraterrestrial intelligence are currently
underway.

Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator
Tomorrow's picture: ocean galaxy
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 30
A starfield glows faintly with red glowing gas and dust. In the center
there is some sort of unusual galaxy with a red jet emanating toward
the upper right and a dark dust lane through its center. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

Peculiar Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A
Image Credit & Copyright: SADR Observatory Team: J-C Dalouzy, P.
Bazart, M. Dherb+¬court, C. Humbert, G. Leroy, J-P Qu+¬au, H. Talbot, &
E. Valin

Explanation: What's happened to the center of this galaxy? Dramatic
dust lanes run across the center of unusual elliptical galaxy Centaurus
A. These dust lanes are so thick they almost completely obscure the
galaxy's center in visible light. This is particularly unusual as Cen
A's older stars and oval shape are characteristic of a giant elliptical
galaxy, a galaxy type typically low in dark dust. Pictured in this deep
image is a complex network of foreground gas and dust, as well as
shells of dim stars and a jet projecting to the upper right. Also known
as NGC 5128, Cen A is surely the result of a galactic collision where
many young dust-creating stars were formed. However, details of the
creation of Cen A's unusually active center and iconic central dust
lanes are still being researched. Cen A lies only 13 million light
years away, making it the closest active galaxy.

Jigsaw Galaxy: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: titanian trenches
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 March 31
A half-lit moon is shown that is unfamiliar. The moon appears mostly
gray but with some light patches. Two large craters appear near the
terminator, and some large cracks are also evident. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

Uranus's Largest Moon: Titania
Image Credit: NASA, Voyager 2; Processing & License: zelario12

Explanation: Titania's tortured terrain is a mix of canyons, cliffs,
and craters. NASA's interplanetary robot spacecraft Voyager 2 passed
the largest moon of Uranus in 1986 and took the feature picture. That
the trenches of Titania resemble those on another moon of Uranus,
Ariel, indicate that Titania underwent some violent surface event
possibly related to water freezing and expanding in its distant past.
Although Titania is Uranus's largest moon, it is only about half the
radius of Triton - the largest moon of Uranus's sister planet Neptune,
which itself is slightly smaller than Earth's Moon. Titania, discovered
by William Herschel in 1787, is essentially a large dirty iceball that
is composed of about half water-ice and half rock. There is recent
speculation that radioactive heating melts some underground ice into
oceans.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 01
Large clouds of interstellar gas and dust of various shapes and sizes
cover the image. A cloud shaped like a bubble sits atop the image,
while a cloud shaped like a claw is in the middle.

The Claw and Bubble Nebulae
Image Credit & Copyright: Richard Whitehead
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: What unexpected things do you see when you look up at the
night sky? TodayCÇÖs image resembles an abstract painting, with large
swaths of color strewn across a cosmic canvas seemingly without design.
Despite the image's abstract nature, the human mind finds patterns,
identifying a large claw reaching up towards a floating bubble.
Embedded within these seemingly random structures are the physical laws
that govern how light and matter interact. The Claw (Sh2-157) and
Bubble (NGC 7635) Nebulae glow colors that are mapped to the yellow and
blue shown, indicating the presence of hydrogen and oxygen ionized by
the intense light emitted from stars several times the mass of the Sun.
This image depicts both the chaos and structure of astronomical
processes, showing that a common thread between art and science is to
look for the unexpected.

Tomorrow's picture: warping spacetime
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 2
A towering rocket ignites and lifts off from acoastal launch pad at
dusk, its bright plume of fire and exhaust illuminating thick clouds of
smoke spreading accross the ground.

Liftoff! Returning to the Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: NASA/Bill Ingalls; Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU)

Explanation: We are one small step closer to returning to the Moon. A
new chapter in human exploration began yesterday when NASA's Artemis II
launched aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) from Kennedy Space
Center. Carrying four astronauts, the Orion spacecraft's planned lunar
flyby will be the first in over half a century. This historic test
flight, echoing the legacy of Apollo while pushing beyond it, will
carry its crew farther from Earth than any humans since 1972, looping
around the Moon before returning home. During the approximately ten-day
journey, Orion's systems--from life support to navigation--will be
tested in deep space, while astronauts observe the lunar surface,
including shadowed regions of the far side rarely seen with such
perspective. After looping around the Moon, the astronauts will return
to Earth, ending their journey with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

Tomorrow's picture: Warping Spacetime
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 3
Illustration showing a binary black hole close to merger in front of
the Tarantula Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Caught in the Web: Visualization of a Black Hole Merger in the
Tarantula Nebula
Illustration Credit & Copyright: Artwork: Carl Knox (OzGrav, Swinburne
University of Technology);
Astrophotography: Blake Estes & Christian Sasse, iTelescope.net; Text:
Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: How can we see what is invisible? Black holes are not easy
to see in the dark cosmic night, but astronomers can find them by
analyzing their gravitational effects on matter, light and spacetime.
The featured image shows an illustration that combines a simulation of
a black hole binary system in its final "death-dance" with an
astrophotography image of the Tarantula Nebula in the background. Even
though black holes don't emit light, they distort the path of light
rays, acting like a gravitational lens. As a result, the nebula appears
extremely distorted, forming Einstein rings and multiple images.
Tarantula Nebula lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy
that is one of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, 160,000
light-years away. That is more than 1,000 times closer than any of the
binary black hole mergers detected so far. We'll probably never detect
a merger so close to home!

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 4

Hello World
Image Credit: NASA, Reid Wiseman, Artemis II

Explanation: From pole to pole our fair planet is captured in this
snapshot from space, an evocative image from a window of the Orion
spacecraft Integrity. From the spacecraft's perspective the Sun is
moving behind Earth's bright limb along the lower right. Africa and the
Iberian peninsula are in view on the pale blue planet's surface, while
aurorae crown Earth's south and north poles at top right and bottom
left. Commander Reid Wiseman took the historic picture on Artemis II
mission flight day 2 (April 2), after the completion of the planned
translunar injection burn. That burn boosted the spacecraft out of
Earth orbit, sending Integrity and crew on a trajectory that will take
them around the Moon and back again. That's a journey humans last made
over 50 years ago.

Tomorrow's picture: starburst spiral
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 5
A starfield has a spiral galaxy in the center. Around the galaxy is a
light blue faint halo. One of the spiral arms juts out at about 11
o'clock. The galaxy center is red, white, and quite bright. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

NGC 3310: A Starburst Spiral Galaxy
Image Credit & Copyright: AAO ITSO Office, Gemini Obs./AURA & T. A.
Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage)

Explanation: The party is still going on in spiral galaxy NGC 3310.
Roughly 100 million years ago, NGC 3310 likely collided with a smaller
galaxy causing the large spiral galaxy to light up with a tremendous
burst of star formation. The changing gravity during the collision
created density waves that compressed existing clouds of gas and
triggered the star-forming party. The featured image from the Gemini
North Telescope shows the galaxy in great detail, color-coded so that
pink highlights gas while white and blue highlight stars. Some of the
star clusters in the galaxy are quite young, indicating that starburst
galaxies may remain in star-burst mode for quite some time. NGC 3310
spans about 50,000 light years, lies about 50 million light years away,
and is visible with a small telescope towards the constellation of
Great Bear Ursa Major.

Tomorrow's picture: horsehead high
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 7
A starfield surrounds a large nebula that is mostly brown and blue and
has an appearance reminiscent of the head of a horse. This nebula is
not the more famous Horsehead Nebula. Please see the explanation for
more detailed information.

IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: Rabeea Alkuwari

Explanation: Do you see the horse's head? What you are seeing is not
the famous Horsehead nebula toward Orion, but rather a fainter nebula
that only takes on a familiar form with deeper imaging. The main part
of the here-imaged molecular cloud complex is reflection nebula IC
4592. Reflection nebulas are made up of very fine dust that normally
appears dark but can look quite blue when reflecting the visible light
of energetic nearby stars. In this case, the source of much of the
reflected light is a star at the eye of the horse. That star is part of
Nu Scorpii, one of the brighter star systems toward the constellation
of the Scorpion (Scorpius). A second reflection nebula dubbed IC 4601
is visible surrounding two stars just below the image center. The
featured picture was taken from Sawda Natheel in Qatar.

Jigsaw Nebula: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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n.'n.'

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 8
NASA alt text: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at
6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew s flyby of the
Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the
cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing
nighttime. On Earth s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the
Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has
terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central
peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on
impact, splashes upwards during the crater s formation.

Earthset
Image Credit: NASA
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: "And to all of you down there on Earth and around Earth,
we love you, from the Moon. We will see you on the other side," said
Artemis II pilot Victor Glover on April 6^th at 6:44pm ET as 8.3
billion minus four people and one Earth set below the Moon's horizon.
The Orion spacecraft, Integrity, then traveled behind the Moon as part
of its seven-hour lunar flyby. The crew characterized never-before-seen
regions of the far side of the Moon, which is puzzlingly less
volcanically active than the near side. New observations of crater
peaks, floors, terraces, and rings preserved on the lunar surface will
help piece together the impact history of the Solar System. Among many
other surface characterizations, the crew observed one of the Moon's
best-preserved basins, the Orientale basin, and identified two new
craters. As Earth rose above the Moon s horizon and Integrity began its
return home, Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch powerfully
summarized humanity s grander mission: "...we will always choose Earth.
We will always choose each other."

Tomorrow's picture: the death of a comet
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 9

Destruction of Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
Video Credit: Brian Day, SOHO, SDO, JHelioviewer
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: As the crew of Artemis II travelled towards the Moon this
week, Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was expected to have its closest approach
to the Sun on Monday. At this point, comet and Sun would be closer than
half the distance separating the Earth and Moon. The comet did not
survive; the featured video was made with 40 hours of data and shows
the comet plunging toward the Sun, like a moth to a flame. Observing
the comet so close to our bright star requires a coronagraph, an
instrument that blocks the Sun and is used for studies of its corona.
This composite video combines, starting from the outside, views from:
the wider angle coronagraph (blue) and the narrower angle coronagraph
(red), both on NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and NASA's
Solar Dynamics Observatory (black). We can see the comet approaching
the sun, stretching, disappearing behind the coronagraph's occulting
disk and reappearing as a cloud of debris that dissipates.

Tomorrow's picture: galactic antennae
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 10

Exploring the Antennae
Image Credit & Copyright: Acquisition - Mike Selby Processing - Roberto
Colombari

Explanation: Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly
constellation Corvus, two large galaxies are colliding. Stars in the
two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, very rarely collide
in the course of the ponderous cataclysm that lasts for hundreds of
millions of years. But the galaxies' large clouds of molecular gas and
dust often do, triggering furious episodes of star formation near the
center of the cosmic wreckage. Spanning over 50 thousand light-years,
this stunning telescopic frame also reveals new star clusters and
matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal
forces. The remarkably sharp ground-based image follows the faint tidal
tails and distant background galaxies in the field of view. The
suggestive overall visual appearance of the extended arcing structures
gives the galaxy pair, also known as Arp 244, its popular name - The
Antennae.

Artemis II: mission updates
Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 11

Artemis II: Flight Day 6
Image Credit: NASA, Artemis II

Explanation: On flight day 6 (April 6) the Artemis II mission achieved
a historic lunar flyby. Rounding the lunar far side, the deep space
maneuver marked humanity's first venture to the Moon since Apollo 17 in
1972. The Orion spacecraft Integrity reached a maximum distance of
nearly 407,000 kilometers, and the Artemis II crew, Reid Wiseman,
Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, set the record
for the farthest distance from Earth traveled by any human since the
Apollo 13 crew in 1970. From behind the Moon on flight day 6, a solar
array wing camera recorded this space age selfie, framing the
spacecraft and lunar far side. Planet Earth, home to the Artemis II
crew, is the small, bright crescent beyond the lunar limb. The crew
safely returned home on Artemis II mission flight day 10.

Artemis II: Splashdown
Tomorrow's picture: beyond the Milky Way
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 12
A starry night is seen above foreground mountains. Toward the right is
a comet with its head near the bottom center and a long tail extending
toward the upper right. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) Brightens
Image Credit & Copyright: Jos+¬ Rodrigues

Explanation: Comet R3 is brightening rapidly -- will it survive? C/2025
R3 (PanSTARRS) has been slowly brightening and extending an ion tail
since its discovery last year. This shedding mountain of dirty ice puts
on its best sky show this month, though, because it passes its closest
to both the Sun (April 19) and the Earth (April 25). The featured
image, showing R3 already sporting a tail extending over 10 degrees,
was taken two nights ago from Sion, Switzerland with the big mountain
Bietschhorn on the left. Comet R3 will be visible during mid-April
before sunrise. Although the future brightness of any comet is hard to
predict, the brightness of R3 makes it already a good camera comet and
it may become visible to the unaided eye in the next week. Comet R3's
physical future is also unknown because, like Comet A1 (MAPS) earlier
this month, it may disintegrate when it passes its closest to the Sun.
Or it may live to leave the Solar System.

Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026
Tomorrow's picture: oyster stars
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 13
A starfield surrounds a large light-brown nebula that has several dust
pillars. In the center of the nebula are many bright blue stars. Some
distant galaxies are visible through and around the nebula. Please see
the explanation for more detailed information.

NGC 602 and Beyond
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) -
ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Explanation: The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like
pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic
Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5
million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal gas and
dust, NGC 602 is featured in this stunning Hubble image of the region.
Fantastic ridges and swept back shapes strongly suggest that energetic
radiation and shock waves from NGC 602's massive young stars have
eroded the dusty material and triggered a progression of star formation
moving away from the cluster's center. At the estimated distance of the
Small Magellanic Cloud, the featured picture spans about 200
light-years, but a tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are
also visible in this sharp multi-colored view. The background galaxies
are hundreds of millions of light-years or more beyond NGC 602.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 14
A star field surrounds a bright comet with a long tail. The green coma
of the comet is seen on the lower left, while the light blue ion tail
extends to the upper right and shows wavey structure. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

The Long Wispy Tail of Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)
Image Credit & Copyright: Haythem Hamdi

Explanation: Why does Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) have a wispy tail? The
newest bright member of the inner Solar System, Comet C/2025 R3
(PanSTARRS) is already extending an impressive stream of glowing gas.
This tail starts from an unseen central nucleus of dirty ice that is
likely a few kilometers across. The nucleus is warmed by the Sun and
emits a cloud of neutral gas into a coma that glows light green.
Nuclear gas ionized by energetic sunlight is pushed away from the Sun
by the solar wind into an ion tail that glows light blue. The wispy
nature of the ion tail is caused by the constantly changing structure
of the solar wind. Pictured from Rhode Island, USA two days ago, Comet
R3 (PanSTARRS) shows off a many-degree ion tail. Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)
is best seen before dawn from northern skies for another 10 days, after
which it will be best visible from southern skies.

Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 15
The relatively small International Space Station sits atop the image,
about to transit in front of the illuminated Moon. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

The ISS Transits the Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: S+¬bastien Borie
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: Nope, that is not an alien spaceship landing on the Moon!
This is an image of the International Space Station (ISS) as it begins
to transit in front of the Moon. The ISS is in low-Earth orbit (LEO)
where it wizzes around the Earth every 90 minutes. Orbiting the Earth
16 times per day for 25 years, the ISS has photobombed many familiar
celestial objects including Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the Sun. Thousands
of experiments led by researchers from over one hundred countries have
been conducted on the ISS. Growing protein crystals in low-gravity was
one of the first experiments onboard the ISS and continues to
contribute to new medical treatments. ISS astronauts study plant
growth, water recycling, human health, and more to support the Artemis
missions which will take humans farther than theyCÇÖve ever gone before.
Next time you are out and about at night, try to spot the ISS zooming
across the sky!

Tomorrow's picture: the night sky in Brazil
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
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2026 April 16
A dead tree branch on the foreground appears to support a spinning
wheel of stars on the night sky. Please see the explanation for more
detailed information.

South Celestial Tree
Image Credit & Copyright: Kiko Fairbairn
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: If you live in the northern hemisphere, you may have
learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris, in the night sky. It can
be used to find north, and it approximately marks the northern
celestial pole. If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no
bright star marking the southern celestial pole, but the Southern Cross
can be used to find south. The featured image was taken in Padre
Bernardo (GO), Brazil. It shows the apparent motion of the stars around
the apparently empty southern celestial pole over 2 hours, on August
20, 2018. Each star takes about 24 hours to make a complete turn around
the pole in the sky. Padre Bernardo is located in the Cerrado region, a
tropical savanna that occupies most of central Brazil and supports rich
biodiversity. The barren branch that apparently supports this sky wheel
of rotating stars is a common sight there in the dry season during the
southern winter.

Tomorrow's picture: starburst and superwind
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
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2026 April 17

M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind
Image Credit & Copyright: Arnaud Malleval

Explanation: Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In
fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive
stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a prodigious
outflow. Evidence for the superwind from the galaxy's central regions
is clear in the sharp telescopic portrait. The composite image includes
33 hours of narrowband data, highlighting emission from long outflow
filaments of atomic hydrogen gas in reddish hues. Some of the gas in
the superwind, enriched in heavy elements forged in the massive stars,
will eventually escape into intergalactic space. Triggered by a close
encounter with nearby large galaxy M81, the furious burst of star
formation in M82 should last about 100 million years or so. Also known
as the Cigar Galaxy for its elongated visual appearance, M82 is about
30,000 light-years across. It lies 12 million light-years away near the
northern boundary of Ursa Major.

Tomorrow's picture: just dust
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 18

PanSTARRS and Planets
Image Credit & Copyright: Luc Perrot (TWAN)

Explanation: Near the eastern horizon before sunrise, Comet C/2025 R3
PanSTARRS is getting brighter. Readily visible in binoculars and small
telescopes, the comet may be just on the verge of naked-eye visibility
from dark sky sites. Though it was not quite apparent to the eye,
PanSTARRS is still easy to spot in this camera image taken on April 16.
In the view from a volcanic peak overlooking France's Reunion Island,
planet Earth, the comet shares eastern predawn skies with naked-eye
planets Mars and Mercury and fainter Neptune. Saturn is hiding behind
the low cloudbank that doesn't quite hide an old crescent Moon. This is
a good weekend for northern hemisphere comet watchers to try to catch
PanSTARRS an hour or so before sunrise, as the comet grows brighter
approaching its perihelion on April 19. On April 26 the comet makes its
closest approach to our fair planet but by then will be difficult to
see in the solar glare. Good views of this comet PanSTARRS in late
April and early May will be from the southern hemisphere.

Tomorrow's picture: starry-eyed
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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2026 April 19
The image shows land on the left and a star filled sky on the right.
Prominent in the sky is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy. On the left
is a small circular lake that reflects some of the stars in the sky.
Together, the land and lake look like an eye lookout out at the Milky
Way. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Eye on the Milky Way
Image Credit & Copyright: Miguel Claro (TWAN, Dark Sky Alqueva)

Explanation: Have you ever had stars in your eyes? It appears that the
eye on the left does, and moreover, it appears to be gazing at even
more stars. The featured 27-frame mosaic was taken in 2019 from Ojas de
Salar in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The eye is actually a small
lagoon captured reflecting the dark night sky as the Milky Way Galaxy
arched overhead. The seemingly smooth band of the Milky Way is really
composed of billions of stars, but decorated with filaments of
light-absorbing dust and red-glowing nebulas. Additionally, both
Jupiter (slightly left the galactic arch) and Saturn (slightly to the
right) are visible. The lights of small towns dot the unusual vertical
horizon. The rocky terrain around the lagoon appears to some more like
the surface of Mars than our Earth.

Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after
1995)
Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 20
A starry sky is seen above two tree-covered mountains that slope up on
both sides of the image. In the central valley the head of a comet is
seen, with a long tail flowing nearly vertically upward toward the top
of the tall frame. Please see the explanation for more detailed
information.

Comet R3 PanSTARRS over a Himalayan Valley
Image Credit & Copyright: Basudeb Chakrabarti & Samit Saha

Explanation: The best way to see comet R3 PanSTARRSCÇÖs long tail is with
a camera. This week, the recently brightened comet appears in northern
skies to the east just before dawn, but is only barely visible to the
unaided eye. The many-degree ion tail captured on long duration camera
exposures is not unusual for a comet - it is primarily due to the
Earth's nearly sideways view of the tail as it points away from the
Sun. In the featured image taken last week, Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS)
showed off its flowing tail through a valley between two peaks in the
Himalayan mountains of India. The comet passed its closest to the Sun
yesterday. As it nears its closest approach to Earth next week, a bushy
dust tail may become visible. The comet is slowly moving out of
northern skies and by the end of the month will be visible after sunset
in southern skies as it fades and leaves our Solar System.

Growing Gallery: Comet R3 PanSTARRS in 2026
Tomorrow's picture: different mountains
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 21
A starry sky is seen above snowy mountains. In the sky three arches are
visible, with the Milky Way on either side and zodiacal light in the
center. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Three Sky Arches over Snowy Alps
Image Credit & Copyright: Angel Fux

Explanation: Why are there three arches across the sky instead of two?
Last month, after being dropped off by a helicopter at a high mountain
peak in the Alps near the Swiss Italian border, an adventurous
astrophotographer expected two arches of our Milky Way galaxy to be
visible during the night. These were the inner arch looking in toward
the center of our galaxy on the left, visible just before sunrise, and
the outer arch on the right visible just after sunset. But there were
three arches. The surprised astrophotographer soon realized that the
sky was so dark that an entire arc of faint zodiacal light was also
noticeable -- sunlight scattered by inner Solar System dust. And it
artfully connected the two Milky Way arches! The next morning a
helicopter picked the astrophotographer back up, and after 40 hours of
processing and combining that night's images, the featured triple-arch
360-degree panorama resulted.

Jigsaw Vistas: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
Tomorrow's picture: open space
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 22

Earthset with an iPhone
Video Credit: NASA, Reid Wiseman
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: What does it mean for the Earth to set? Artemis II
Commander Reid Wiseman gave us another spectacular view of Earth from
their historic flyby of the Moon. Commander Wiseman's video, taken with
an iPhone at 8x zoom, shows our entire planet gradually blocked from
view by the Moon. On the Earth, the 24-hour planetary rotation causes
the Sun to set below your horizon every night. However, on Artemis II
the Earthset was caused not by the MoonCÇÖs rotation but by the
spacecraft moving behind the Moon (at about 55 seconds in this video).
Once rare, views of Earth are now taken many times a day from many
spacecraft, including NASACÇÖs SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)
satellite tracking freshwater resources and USGS Landsat 8 and 9
satellites supporting water management for farmers, for example. Space
agencies around our home planet now work together to provide unique and
ever-improving views of our Earth.

Celebrate: Earth Day
Tomorrow's picture: placeholder
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

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fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 23
The image shows a circle with bands of different colors, missing two
opposite pizza slices, on a dark background. An inset presents a
zoomed-in view of the center, showing a fine, feathery structure.

Large Scale Structure of the Universe
Image Credit: Claire Lamman/DESI collaboration
Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Explanation: This is a map of the universe. The Dark Energy
Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory,
Arizona, has finished its five-year survey. It observed more than 47
million galaxies and quasars and created a 3D map centered on the
Earth. Today's featured image shows a thin slice of these data: the
black gaps indicate where our Galaxy obscures distant objects. The
feathery web in the inset shows the large scale structure of the
universe. Light of the most distant galaxies shown here travelled for
11 billion years to reach the Earth. Galaxies cluster throughout cosmic
history under the competing influences of gravity and dark energy,
responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe. Analysis of
early DESI results hinted at the possibility that dark energy,
described as a cosmological constant by Albert Einstein, may not be
constant after all. But we still have to wait for the analysis of the
now complete dataset. The nature of dark energy is the biggest mystery
of cosmology.

Tomorrow's picture: young moon and sister stars
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 24

Young Moon and Sister Stars
Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer

Explanation: Sunlit arms of a crescent moon seem to embrace the faint
lunar night side in this dramatic celestial scene from planet Earth.
The single telephoto exposure tracking the sky was captured on the
night of April 19, when a two day old Moon was near perigee in its
elliptical orbit. On that date, the young Moon was also close on the
sky to the lovely Pleiades Star Cluster. With the moonlight dimmed by
clouds the Pleiades sister stars gather below the Moon's bright
crescent, seen through a faint but colorful lunar corona. The lunar
night side is illuminated by earthshine, sunlight reflected from the
Earth itself. The Moon's ashen glow, also known as the "old moon in the
young moon's arms", tends to be brighter in the northern hemisphere
spring. And for now, the Moon's orbit takes it near the Pleiades stars
each month in planet Earth's sky, though their close conjunctions are
easiest to see when the Moon is near a crescent phase.

Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 25

The Persistence of Sunlight
Image Credit & Copyright: Lorenzo Busilacchi

Explanation: This seaside sunset offered a surreal experience, captured
in a sea and skyscape from the west coast of Sardinia, Italy, planet
Earth. The Daliesque scene is a composition of sequential exposures
made with a camera and long telephoto lens. The Sun is not melting,
though. Its shifting and fluid appearance as it nears the horizon is
caused as refraction along the line of sight changes and creates
distorted images or mirages of the reddened solar disk. The changes in
atmospheric refraction correspond to atmospheric layers with sharply
different temperatures and densities. Another famous but fleeting
effect of atmospheric refraction produced by a long sight-line to the
setting (or rising) Sun is often called the green flash.

Tomorrow's picture: mystic mountain monster
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 26
The featured image shows a large pillar of dust and gas in the Carina
Nebula. The pillar has many humps and several jets. Please see the
explanation for more detailed information.

Mystic Mountain Monster being Destroyed
Image Credit: Hubble, NASA, ESA; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: Inside the head of this interstellar monster is a star
that is slowly destroying it. The huge monster, actually an inanimate
series of pillars of gas and dust, measures light years in length. The
in-head star is not itself visible through the opaque interstellar dust
but is bursting out partly by ejecting opposing beams of energetic
particles called Herbig-Haro jets. Located about 7,500 light years away
in the Carina Nebula and known informally as Mystic Mountain, the
appearance of these pillars is dominated by dark dust even though they
are composed mostly of clear hydrogen gas. The featured image was taken
with the Hubble Space Telescope. All over these pillars, the energetic
light and winds from massive newly formed stars are evaporating and
dispersing the dusty stellar nurseries in which they formed. Within a
few million years, the head of this giant, as well as most of its body,
will have been completely evaporated by internal and surrounding stars.

Tomorrow's picture: lost comet
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 27
A night sky filled with lines and dashed-lines appears above a hilly
landscape featuring a distant lit-up tower. Near the center of the
image is a comet shown by its small green coma and ion tail to the
upper right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails
Image Credit & Copyright: Uli Fehr

Explanation: Can you find the comet? Somewhere through this web of
satellite trails is Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), a bright visitor
passing through the inner Solar System. Now, the orbiting satellites
themselves only appear as streaks because of the long camera exposure,
over 10 minutes in this case. On the contrary, to the eye, satellites
appear as points that drift slowly across the night sky and shine by
reflecting sunlight -- primarily just after sunset and before sunrise.
The featured image was taken just before sunrise two weeks ago from
Bavaria, Germany. Presently, Comet R3 PanSTARRS is hard to see for even
another reason -- because it is so (angularly) close to the Sun. As the
comet rounds the Sun, it will be best seen in coming weeks from
southern hemispheree skies, although then it will be heading out to
interstellar space and fading. If you haven't yet found the comet,
don't despair; please take a closer look just above the image center.

Tomorrow's picture: cometary mountains
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 28
A star field with a few red wisps surrounds a nebula that has many
several dark components each of which has a dark head closer to the top
of the image. A red glow is brightest near the top of each component.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

CG 30: Cometary Globules
Image Credit & Copyright: Marcelo Salemme

Explanation: They're like mountain peaks, but they are forming stars.
Bright-rimmed, flowing shapes gather near the center of this rich
starfield toward the borders of the nautical southern constellations
Puppis and Vela. Composed of interstellar gas and dust, the grouping of
light-year sized cometary globules is about 1300 light-years distant.
Energetic ultraviolet light from nearby hot stars has molded the
globules and ionized their bright rims. The globules also stream away
from the Vela supernova remnant which may have influenced their
swept-back shapes. Within them, cores of cold gas and dust are likely
collapsing to form low mass stars whose formation will ultimately cause
the globules to disperse. In fact, cometary globule CG 30 (upper right
in the group) sports a small reddish glow inside its head, a telltale
sign of energetic jets from a star in the early stages of formation.

Tomorrow's picture: open space
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
written by a professional astronomer.

2026 April 29
The crescent Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades travel across the twilight
sky. The silhouettes of a few beach flowers decorate the foreground.

The Moon, Venus, and the Pleiades
Image Credit & Copyright: Gianni Tumino
Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)

Explanation: No, Earth did not recently acquire six more moons! TodayCÇÖs
APOD is a combination of images following the Moon, Venus, and the
Pleiades across a southern Sicilian sky as twilight turned to evening
on April 19. From 2023 to 2029, the Pleiades' and the Moon CÇ£visit" each
other once per month due to the Pleiades' location in the ecliptic
plane. April 2026 saw the celestial alignment of their visit with
Venus. About six stars in the Pleiades cluster (Messier 45) are
typically visible with the unaided eye. Due to the clusterCÇÖs visibility
across the world, there are many myths and legends across cultures
associated with the Pleiades. The Haudenosaunee people of North
America, for example, say that seven boys danced so enthusiastically
that they lifted off into the sky. Astronomers recently found thousands
more Pleiades members, showing that after thousands of years of gazing
upon this cluster, there is yet more to learn about the Pleiades.

Tomorrow's picture: Waves on Titan
__________________________________________________________________

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation
& Michigan Tech. U.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)