Astronomy Picture of the Day . ... ESA , NASA Explanation: Halloween's origin is ancient and astronomical. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day , a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). ... Appearing similar to the icon of a fictional ghost , NGC 2080 is actually a star forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud , a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way Galaxy. ...