NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day

In today's image, we see a full circle rainbow. This is only visible from above the ground because of the geometry involved in the reflection of light off of the raindrops. In this case, observed from a drone, we can see the full rainbow as a complete circle in the sky.

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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 NGC 6164, also known as the Dragon's Egg Nebula. This is the nebula around a very young, O-type star. These are the largest and most massive stars and also the most unstable. These are stars that will eventually end their lives as supernovae. Here we see an earlier stage, where earlier layers of the star were 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 number of meteors from the Geminid meteor show that peaked about a week ago. The meteors are from debris left behind by an asteroid. The small particles strike Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds and are vaporized.

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 comet known as 2022 E3 (ZTF). This is a long period comet that will only return to the inner solar system after hundreds or thousands of years. It will reach its closest approach to our Sun in January and to Earth in February. However, it is not expected to brighten to the point where it can be seen without a telescope or binoculars.

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 an image taken by the Cassini spacecraft near the end of its mission in 2017. At this point, it was directed to a point close to Saturn and inside the orbit of the rings so it could look outward giving us a never before seen view of the rings.

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 NGC 1365, an example of a barred spiral galaxy. As with any spiral galaxy, we see the blue color of the spiral arms and the pink glow of the hydrogen regions that highlight the star formation within the spiral arms.

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 Sun in the sky around noon from central Sweden. From high latitudes, the Sun will never get very high in the sky at this time of year. Today is the winter solstice when the Sun will be lowest in the sky at noon for those living in the northern hemisphere.

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 nebula known as Thor's Helmet - named for the resemblance to the winged helmet of the Norse god. This nebula contains a Wolf-Rayet star. This is a very young and very hot star which is the type that we would expect to become a supernova in the next few thousand years or so.

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 Tadpole Nebula, which is a part of a star forming region. In the main image, the stars have been digitally removed to allow the viewer to focus on the structures of the gas and dust within in the nebula.

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 images of the 25 brightest stars in the night sky. We see a variety of colors among these stars indicating differences in temperature. A star can be bright because it is close to Earth or because it is an intrinsically luminous star which can ve visible over vast distances. Note that Polaris is not on this list as it is about the 50th brightest star and is best known for its location near the North Celestial Pole rather than its brightness.

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.