NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day – Page 3

29May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 29 May 2023: Milky Way Galaxy and the Bioluminescent Sea

[ad_1] Our solar system, with the Sun at the center and 8 other planets besides Earth, reside in an obscure part of a galaxy known as the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a barred spiral galaxy that spans about 100,000 light-years across and was formed approximately 14 billion years ago. According to NASA, the Milky Way Galaxy has over 100 billion stars and all of them orbit a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center, which is estimated to be four million times as massive as our Sun.NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a breathtaking snapshot of the Milky Way Galaxy captured over the bioluminescence of the sea in the Maldives. What is the turquoise glow in the water? It occurs due to single-celled Planktons, known as Noctiluca scintillans, which illuminate when stimulated by the sea wave...

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, May 27, 2023: This asteroid has a moon!

28May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, May 27, 2023: This asteroid has a moon!

[ad_1] Do asteroids have moons? Certainly! Asteroids with their own moon are not exactly common in the solar system, but they are very much there. NASA reveals that more than 150 asteroids are known to have a small companion moon and even some have two moons. Last year, astronomers discovered a third moon orbiting the asteroid 130 Elektra.NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day has featured an asteroid that has a tiny moon! The robotic spacecraft Galileo had a notable encounter with two asteroids during its extensive interplanetary journey to Jupiter in 1993. One of the asteroids in focus was 243 Ida, and to the surprise of scientists, it was found to possess a moon. While sharing the image, NASA explained that the tiny moon, named Dactyl, appeared as a small dot on the right side of the fe...

27May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 27 May 2023: When Voyager snapped Neptune and Triton together

[ad_1] Among Neptune's 14 moons, Triton stands out as the largest. What makes it truly remarkable is its unconventional behaviour – it is the only moon in our solar system that orbits in a direction opposite to its planet's rotation. According to scientists, Triton is believed to be a celestial body that originally belonged to the Kuiper Belt — a region of space beyond Neptune. NASA says that there is a possibility that it may have been captured by Neptune's gravitational pull millions of years ago. Interestingly, Triton shares numerous similarities with Pluto, which is the most prominent representative of the Kuiper Belt.Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a crescent phase Neptune with its moon Triton. In 1989, as the Voyager 2 spacecraft gracefully journeyed through the outer...

26May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 26 May 2023: Virgo cluster of galaxies

[ad_1] Galaxies which exist in the vastness of space, consist of various celestial objects such as stars, clouds of dust, and gas, all of which are bound together by gravity. Most galaxies exist in groups or clusters with dozens or hundreds of members, and these cluster galaxies are all in constant motion, pulled and twisted by their neighbour's gravity. Galaxy clusters are the largest objects in the Universe bound by gravity and astronomers can use them to measure important cosmological properties, according to NASA.Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of the Virgo cluster of galaxies located about 50 million light-years away. According to NASA, the Virgo cluster is the nearest cluster of galaxies and contains over 2000 galaxies. This cluster also includes bright Mes...

25May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 25 May 2023: Breathtaking Cat’s Eye Nebula

[ad_1] NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day is published on a daily basis and the US space agency showcases photographs of celestial objects captured by astrophotographers from all over the world. NASA also snaps objects in space using its advanced technology such as the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and other observational assets. In fact, the newly launched James Webb Telescope has enabled NASA to observe and study objects located millions of light-years away in space, much further than the veteran Hubble Telescope. However, while these big guns are in constant use by NASA, the agency also keeps an eye on what lay astrophotographers around the world are doing in order to highlight the images they took too.Today's NASA Astronomy Pict...

24May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 24 May 2023: As Moon hides behind Jupiter, Sony camera snaps amazing pic

[ad_1] Over the past few months, we have seen several stunning snapshots of celestial objects as part of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day, which is published on a daily basis. Snapshots of celestial objects like galaxies, black holes, nebulae, and more, were captured by astrophotographers from all over the world and have been shared by NASA. However, today's picture is a different one as it is not a snapshot of one particular object, but rather an occultation. For the unaware, occultation occurs when an object like a moon hides from the observer behind another object.Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of lunar occultation, as the Moon hid behind Jupiter. This phenomenon occurred earlier this month, and while the Moon is half-lit by the Sun, its other part is in h...

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 23 March 2023: Breathtaking swirls of Jupiter

23May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 23 March 2023: Breathtaking swirls of Jupiter

[ad_1] Jupiter is the fifth planet in the solar system, and it is by far the biggest one. In fact, it is twice as big as all the other planets in our solar system combined. Jupiter is also known as the Gas Giant due to a dense atmosphere of hydrogen and helium with windy clouds of ammonia. It also has the most moons in the solar system, with 92 confirmed moons with orbits, according to International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center.Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of Jupiter's swirls, formed due to the storms raging on the surface of the planet. According to NASA, The planet has also been harboring various natural phenomena for hundreds of years. Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years. Tech u...

22May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 22 May 2023: Supernova snapped by astrophotographer

[ad_1] The universe contains an astonishing number of stars, estimated to be around 200 billion trillion. There are at least 100 billion stars within our own Milky Way Galaxy, while the entire universe harbours over 100 billion galaxies. When a star explodes, the subsequent explosion which takes place, known as a Supernova, is the largest explosion to occur in space. According to NASA, a supernova happens when there is a change in the core, or center, of a star. A change can occur in two different ways, with both resulting in a supernova. Just days ago, a supernova was discovered located near a spiral galaxy.Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of the supernova SN 2023ixf located near the M101 spiral galaxy. This supernova was discovered by Japanese astronomer Koichi ...

21May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 21 May 2023: An alien-like animal!

[ad_1] The idea of the presence of aliens has always fascinated humans! From sci-fi movie plots revolving around aliens to scientific studies to find life beyond Earth have always kept the excitement alive. The existence of aliens is a captivating question that has intrigued NASA scientists too for a long time. Although, scientists haven't found life on other planets or obtained scientific evidence supporting the existence of extraterrestrial life, NASA is still actively looking for evidence. Meanwhile, NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 21st May has shared an intriguing image of a Tardigrade animal in Moss. Is this an alien? You must be thinking! But as mentioned earlier, there is no proof of aliens so far. But for all the animals on Earth, the tardigrade might be the best candidate for...

20May

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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 20 May 2023: STUNNING view of Jupiter’s Moon Europa

[ad_1] Jupiter is the second planet in our solar system with the most number of moons at 95! Among these, the smallest of Jupiter's four Galilean moons is Europa which is the sixth closest to the planet. Europa is said to be about 90 percent the size of Earth's Moon! If we were to replace our Moon with Europa, it would have a similar apparent size in the sky, but it would be significantly brighter, NASA explains. This is because Europa's surface is composed of water ice that reflects approximately 5.5 times more sunlight than our Moon does. Interestingly, Europa is a popular destination as it has been visited by several spacecraft and more missions are planned in the future. Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day even brings a stunning view of Europa by Galileo spacecraft. However, t...