#apod — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #apod, aggregated by home.social.
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2026 May 16
Aurora Slathers Up the Sky
* Image Credit: Jack Fischer, Expedition 52, NASA
https://uniphigood.com/portfolio_page/astronaut-jack-fischer/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/%20expedition52/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/Explanation:
Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green aurora slathers up the sky in this 2017 June 25 snapshot from the International Space Station. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view. The tantalizing glow is green at lower altitudes, but rarer reddish bands extend above the space station's horizon. The orbital scene was captured while passing over a point south and east of Australia, with stars above the horizon at the right belonging to the constellation Canis Major, Orion's big dog. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major, is the brightest star near the Earth's limb.
https://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.fall2000.web.projects/Christina%20Shaw/AuroraColors.html
https://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/4D.html
https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS052&roll=E&frame=7857
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/en/
https://noirlab.edu/public/education/constellations/canismajor/
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sirius.htmlhttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260516.html
#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #apod #4sAur
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Astronomy photo of the day: R3 PanSTARRS: An Orion Comet.
Copyright: Chester Hall-FernandezExplanation: Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was near its most spectacular -- in terms of tail visibility -- when passing in front of the iconic constellation
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APOD: 2026 May 14 – The Messier Catalog at Uniform Scale
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260514.html -
2026 May 15
Unraveling NGC 3169
* Image Credit & Copyright: Simone Curzi and the ShaRA Team
https://app.astrobin.com/u/MRWSKYLOVER?i=0ym89c#gallery
https://astrotrex.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/shara8-2-the-galaxy-duo/Explanation:
Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, south of bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166 interact gravitationally. Eventually the galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep and colorful galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years at the group's estimated distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165 to the right. NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum from radio to X-rays, harboring an active galactic nucleus that is the site of a supermassive black hole.
https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso1114a/
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-ngc3166/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120604.html
http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/leoii.html
https://app.astrobin.com/u/MRWSKYLOVER?i=e4w7jc
http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.4382https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260515.html
#space #galaxy #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #esa #NASA #education #apod
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TOPIC> THE Messier Catalog
2026 May 14
Messier Catalog at Uniform Scale
* Image Credit: Sylvain Villet
https://app.astrobin.com/u/SylvainV
https://app.astrobin.com/forum/topic/191541
* Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.chirentiExplanation:
What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky, armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope? If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the very popular objects in the Messier Catalog (most of them, but not all, are also visible from the Southern half of the Earth). The featured image shows all 110 objects in the catalog, shown at uniform scale. Charles Messier created the catalog in the 18th Century. He was interested in comets, and his catalog was a list of known comet-like "objects to avoid" in the sky when observing or hunting for comets. The deep sky objects in the catalog include a supernova remnant (the Crab Nebula, M1), other galaxies (such as Andromeda, M31), nebulae (e.g. the Orion Nebula, M42, a star forming region) and stellar clusters (such as the Pleiades, M45, a bright young open cluster).
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000311.html
!!!explore> https://science.nasa.gov/specials/apps/hubble-skymap/messier/
https://app.astrobin.com/u/SylvainV?i=9cdwrv
https://science.nasa.gov/people/explore-the-night-sky-hubbleatms-messier-catalog-bio/
https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/page/comets
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_object
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-sky_object
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova_remnant
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250508.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251115.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250420.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260223.html
https://esahubble.org/wordbank/open-cluster/https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260514.html
#space #messier #astrophotography #photography #science #nature #physics #NASA #ESA #apod
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#NGC188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day -
#NGC188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day -
#NGC188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day -
#NGC188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day -
#NGC188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
#Astronomy #Picture of the Day -
#apod 2026-05-13 NGC 188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog Image Credit: Neven Krcmarek Web page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260513.html
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Astronomy photo of the day: NGC 188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog.
Copyright: Neven KrcmarekExplanation: The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E
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La structure de l'Univers à grande échelle
https://www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=260423
#apod #image #Univers #science #physique #astronomie #astrophysique #cosmos #cosmologie #tech #structure #DESI #observatoire #matièrenoire #énergienoire #NASA -
La structure de l'Univers à grande échelle
https://www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=260423
#apod #image #Univers #science #physique #astronomie #astrophysique #cosmos #cosmologie #tech #structure #DESI #observatoire #matièrenoire #énergienoire #NASA -
La structure de l'Univers à grande échelle
https://www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=260423
#apod #image #Univers #science #physique #astronomie #astrophysique #cosmos #cosmologie #tech #structure #DESI #observatoire #matièrenoire #énergienoire #NASA -
La structure de l'Univers à grande échelle
https://www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=260423
#apod #image #Univers #science #physique #astronomie #astrophysique #cosmos #cosmologie #tech #structure #DESI #observatoire #matièrenoire #énergienoire #NASA -
La structure de l'Univers à grande échelle
https://www.cidehom.com/apod.php?_date=260423
#apod #image #Univers #science #physique #astronomie #astrophysique #cosmos #cosmologie #tech #structure #DESI #observatoire #matièrenoire #énergienoire #NASA -
Une comète? What else?
(#APOD du jour : https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260512.html)Résumé rapide en français de la légende :
La comète R3 PanSTARRS est une ancienne relique de notre système solaire. Sa queue bleutée (et un peu verte aussi ici) se forme lorsque les gaz émis par son noyau sont ionisés par le Soleil. Les comètes peuvent nous révéler l'histoire de la formation des planètes et peut-être aussi celle de l'apparition de la vie. -
2026 May 12
The Conjunction of Comet R3 PanSTARRS and the Orion Nebula
* Image Credit & Copyright: Julien De Winter, Sascha Ebeler
https://www.instagram.com/dwj85
https://www.instagram.com/sascha.ebeler
* Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)
https://kerockcliffe.com/
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
https://cresst2.umd.edu/Explanation:
Today’s composite image features something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! Comet R3 PanSTARRS, streaking across the right of the image, likely originated from the Oort Cloud, meaning it is an old Solar System relic from billions of years ago. It’s bright extended ion tail glows blue as the gas escaping the comet’s core is ionized by sunlight. Astronomers are fascinated by comets for all sorts of reasons: comet compositions are untouched time capsules containing the building blocks of Solar System planets; comets may have delivered water to the young Earth; the behavior of cometary tails shed light on solar wind and radiation interactions. The background mosaic, featuring the Orion Nebula (M42), was taken over two nights of observation with the comet captured on the third night. The Orion Nebula is our nearest stellar nursery and, at about 2 million years old, is our something (relatively) new! Now at around 127.5 million kilometers from Earth, we wave goodbye to the borrowed Comet R3 PanSTARRS as it leaves the Solar System.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYL5zg5Ak78/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_old
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260412.html
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/oort-cloud/facts/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260414.html
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/facts/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/comet-provides-new-clues-to-origins-of-earths-oceans/
https://www.mos.org/article/getting-know-orion-great-nebula
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-42/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241104.html
https://www.space.com/orion-nebula
https://theskylive.com/c2025r3-infohttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260512.html
#space #comets #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod
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#APOD with another great one today.
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Astronomy photo of the day: The Conjunction of Comet R3 PanSTARRS and the Orion Nebula.
Copyright: Julien De Winter,
Sascha EbelerText:
Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA
GSFC,
UMBC CSST,
CRESST II)Explanation: Today’s composite image features something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Comet R3 PanSTARRS, streaking across the right of the image, likely originated from the Oort Cloud, meaning it is an old Solar System relic from billions of years ago
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2026 May 13
NGC 188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
* Image Credit & Copyright: Neven Krcmarek
https://app.astrobin.com/u/NevenKrcmarekExplanation:
The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers William, Caroline, and John Herschel along with others into a useful single, complete catalog of astronomical discoveries and measurements. Dreyer's work was largely successful and is still important today as this famous catalog continues to lend its "NGC" to bright clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. Take for example the star cluster known as NGC 188 (item number 188 in the NGC compilation). It lies about 6,000 light-years distant in the northern constellation Cepheus and represents a galactic or open star cluster. With an age of about 7 billion years, NGC 188 is old for an open cluster. Its old, evolved red giant stars have yellowish hues in this colorful, deep sky view. NGC 188 also enjoys the designation Caldwell 1 in a modern compilation of deep sky objects. Located well above the plane of the Milky Way, and seen in the direction of planet Earth's north celestial pole, the ancient stellar group is known to some as the Polarissima Cluster.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_General_Catalogue
https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/j-l-e-dreyer/
https://www.nasa.gov/history/240-years-ago-astronomer-william-herschel-identifies-uranus-as-the-seventh-planet/
https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/space-astronomy/caroline-herschel-first-paid-female-astronomer
https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/john-herschel/
https://in-the-sky.org/data/catalogue.php?cat=NGC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_cluster
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09255
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990312.html
https://app.astrobin.com/i/frpv4y
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-1/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_188https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260512.html
#space #cluster #astrophotography #photography #science #nature #NASA #esa #apod
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#apod 2026-05-11 (video) Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano Image Credit: El Cielo de Canarias Web page: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260511.html Content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/afHfMMC-MJE?rel=0
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Astronomy photo of the day: Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano.
Copyright: El Cielo de CanariasExplanation: These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/afHfMMC-MJE?rel=0
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2026 May 11
Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
* Video Credit & Copyright: DanielLópez (El Cielo de Canarias)
http://www.elcielodecanarias.com/
* Music: Piano della Moon (Dan Silva)
https://vimeo.com/dansilvaworldExplanation:
These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens. What is moving is mostly the Earth, whose spin causes the Moon to slowly disappear behind Mount Teide, a volcano in the Canary Islands of Spain off the northwest coast of Africa. The people pictured are 16 kilometers away and many are facing the camera because they are watching the Sun rise behind the photographer. It is not a coincidence that a full moon rises just when the Sun sets because the Sun is always on the opposite side of the sky from a full moon. The featured video was made in 2018 during a full Milk Moon. The video is not time-lapse -- this was really how fast the Moon was setting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_(goddess)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1806/Telescope_Teide.jpg
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/
https://science.nasa.gov/moon/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260505.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Islands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1806/teide_volcan_video.jpg
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/facts/
https://blogmais.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/imagem_ht_07-04-23.jpg
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211010.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240319.html
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-the-moon/en/moon_phases.en.jpg
https://vimeo.com/272723959
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0526/What-is-a-milk-moon-anyway
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170820.htmlhttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260511.html
#space #earth #moon #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #physics #nature #NASA #apod
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Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion
Image Credit & Copyright: Luc Perrot (TWAN)Explanation: Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right. Comet R3 PanSTARRS is now showing two distinct tails: a short dust tail pointing toward the top of the image and a long and wavy ion tail trailing off toward the upper left. The ion tail points away from the Sun and glows blue from excited carbon monoxide. Large particles in the dust tail somewhat resist the radiation pressure that push them away from the Sun and so retain a bit of the comet's orbit. The dust tail shines by reflected sunlight. The featured image was taken a few days ago from France's Reunion Island in the southern Indian Ocean.
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Astronomy photo of the day: Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion.
Copyright: Luc Perrot
(TWAN)Explanation: Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right
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Messier Craters in Stereo
Image Credit: Apollo 11, NASA; Stereo Image Copyright Patrick VantuyneExplanation: Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given to these two large and remarkable craters on the Moon. Standouts in the dark, smooth lunar Sea of Fertility or Mare Fecunditatis, Messier (left) and Messier A have dimensions of 15 by 8 and 16 by 11 kilometers respectively. Their elongated shapes are explained by the extremely shallow-angle trajectory followed by an impactor, moving left to right, that gouged out the craters. The shallow impact also resulted in two bright rays of material extending along the surface to the right, beyond the picture. Intended to be viewed with red/blue glasses (red for the left eye), this striking stereo picture of the crater pair was recently created from high resolution scans of two images (AS11-42-6304, AS11-42-6305) taken during the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.
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.. annotated version of previous post
#space #comets #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy
#nature #NASA #education #apod -
2026 May 10
Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion
* Image Credit & Copyright: Luc Perrot (TWAN)
https://www.lucperrot.fr/bioExplanation:
Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right. Comet R3 PanSTARRS is now showing two distinct tails: a short dust tail pointing toward the top of the image and a long and wavy ion tail trailing off toward the upper left. The ion tail points away from the Sun and glows blue from excited carbon monoxide. Large particles in the dust tail somewhat resist the radiation pressure that push them away from the Sun and so retain a bit of the comet's orbit. The dust tail shines by reflected sunlight. The featured image was taken a few days ago from France's Reunion Island in the southern Indian Ocean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2025_R3_(PanSTARRS)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260420.html
https://starwalk.space/en/news/comet-c2025-r3-panstarrs
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/en/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250420.html
https://theskylive.com/c2025r3-info
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/comets/en/anatomy-of-a-comet.en.jpg
https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/*/Cometary+Dust+Tail
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220110.html
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/tail.html
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/global-maps/carbon-monoxide/
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS1DfzgrmAlBOsFVYpD2zBqj6FDI5z77THEpQ&s
https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/31796
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221227.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France
https://youtu.be/MUEVBSiWWR8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Oceanhttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260510.html
#space #comets #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod
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Astronomy photo of the day: Messier Craters in Stereo.
Copyright: UnknownExplanation: Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given to these two large and remarkable craters on the Moon
