NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see the Terran 1 spacecraft launch. While the overall launch was not completely successful, it was a test of the fuel methalox which consists of liquid methane and liquid oxygen. These are important because they are components that can be found on Mars.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

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In today's image, we see a giant spiral galaxy about 8 times the diameter of our own Milky Way. It is named after Vera Ruby who studied spiral galaxies and was the first to determine that much of the mass in the galaxies and the universe must be in the form of dark matter which is only seen through its gravitational effects.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see Olympus Mons on Mars. This is the largest volcano in the solar system, much larger than any volcano on Earth or Venus. It can become so large because of the lack of plate motions on Mars which are what give us volcanic island chain such as the Hawaiian Islands here on Earth.

My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.

This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the central portion of our galaxy in radio waves. We need to use radio waves because dust n the plane of the galaxy will keep any visible light from the center of the galaxy from reaching us. The bright spot is known as Sgr A* which is material around the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Ring Nebula which is an example of a planetary nebula. This will be the end state of our own Sun - the core will collapse down to a white dwarf star while the outer layers will be expelled out into space.

My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.

This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see a barred spiral in the constellation of Volans. Note the distortion of the upper spiral arm which was likely cause by the interaction of this galaxy with another galaxy in the distant past. This galaxy is now located in the upper left portion of the image.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see several images of the large moon of Saturn known as Titan. This moon is continually shrouded in clouds which prevent us from seeing the surface. However, infrared observations from the Cassini spacecraft allow us to see a glimpse of the surface. Another mission to Titan is scheduled to be launched in 2027.

My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.

This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the globular cluster known as NGC 4372 which is about 20,000 light years away and close (in the sky) to the nebula known as the Dark Doodad which is only about 700 light years away.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the nebula around a Wolf-Rayet star which formed in the shape of a dolphin head. This is material pushed out by the energetic star which moves outward and may be slowed by other material in the interstellar medium.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In today's image, we see the Sun setting as seen from the mountains of Cerro Telolo observatory in Chile. The green flash that is seen occurs when the atmospheric conditions are right and the atmosphere acts as both a prism and a lens, splitting and bending the light.

My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel.

This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

I welcome comments and suggestions about these podcasts. I can be reached here: [email protected]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.