#apod — Public Fediverse posts

October 6, 2026

A Complete Auroral Oval from SMILE
* Credit: ESA, CAS, SMILE, UVI
https://www.esa.int/
https://english.cas.cn/
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile/Smile_s_ultraviolet_vision
* Text: Jerry Bonnell

Explanation:
Have you ever seen a complete auroral oval? You can't see one from the ground because it makes too large a circle around one of Earth's magnetic poles. But spacecraft high above the Earth can see them. The featured video from ESA and CAS's robotic SMILE spacecraft shows not only a full auroral oval, but using ultraviolet light, one that occurred during the day. The time-lapse covers about an hour in late July and shows visually how variable and turbulent auroras really are. The points of light on the sides are distant stars that appear to move only because SMILE's camera view shifts as the spacecraft orbits the Earth. A goal of SMILE is to better understand how the Sun's wind interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere -- and so better understand how to protect astronauts, spacecraft, and ground-based electrical grids from solar storms.

https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-6-a-complete-auroral-oval-from-smile/

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #apod #4sAur

APOD: 2026 October 5 – M104: The Sombrero Galaxy’s Tidal Streams

Explanation: A deep image of the Sombrero galaxy reveals surprises. M104 is named the Sombrero galaxy because, on…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Science #APOD
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/871581/

#APOD: 2026 October 5 - #M104: The #SombreroGalaxy's #TidalStreams - #NASA #Science
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day

https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-5-m104-the-sombrero-galaxys-tidal-streams/

#Galaxy

October 5, 2026

M104: The Sombrero Galaxy's Tidal Streams
* Credit & Copyright
Engelbert Vollmer
https://app.astrobin.com/u/Fox368

Explanation:
A deep image of the Sombrero galaxy reveals surprises. M104 is named the Sombrero galaxy because, on shorter exposures, it looks like a hat. A key defining feature of this huge galaxy is a dark brim of dust that circles the disk galaxy's center. A much longer exposure, however, brings up a hairy past where a bright, hazy halo is revealed that extends well past the central disk and contains many unresolved stars. Surprisingly, in this stellar haze, structures can be seen that include a diagonal ring. These structures and tidal streams provide fresh evidence that M104 had a violent past and is surely the result of collisions and mergers of smaller galaxies. Light takes about 30 million years to reach us from the Sombrero galaxy, which fully spans about 150 thousand light years across. The featured image was taken over seven days in mid-2026 from Namibia.

https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-5-m104-the-sombrero-galaxys-tidal-streams/

#space #galaxy #astrophotography #photography #science #nature #NASA #ESA #apod

#imageastrodujour #apod https://apod.vidry.ca/day/261004/fr

#astronomypictureoftheday #apod https://apod.vidry.ca/day/261004/en

#APOD: 2026 October 4 - #SupernumeraryRainbows over #NewJersey - #NASA #Science
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day

https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-4-supernumerary-rainbows-over-new-jersey/

#US #Rainbow

After 31 years NASA redesigned Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)

After 31 years NASA redesigned Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). What do you think of the new look?

#apod 2026-10-04
Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey
Image Credit: John Entwistle
Web page: https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-4-supernumerary-rainbows-over-new-jersey/

Supernumerary Rainbows over New Jersey
Image Credit: John Entwistle

Explanation: Yes, but can your rainbow do this? After the remnants of Hurricane Florence passed over the Jersey Shore, New Jersey, USA in 2018, the Sun came out in one direction but something quite unusual appeared in the opposite direction: a hall of rainbows. Over the course of the next half hour, to the delight of the photographer and his daughter, vibrant supernumerary rainbows faded in and out, with at least five captured in this featured single shot. Supernumerary rainbows only form when falling water droplets are all nearly the same size and typically less than a millimeter across. Then, sunlight will not only reflect from inside the raindrops, but interfere, a wave phenomenon similar to ripples on a pond when a stone is thrown in. In fact, supernumerary rainbows can only be explained with waves, and their noted existence in the early 1800s was considered early evidence of light's wave nature.

https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-october-4-supernumerary-rainbows-over-new-jersey/ #apod