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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
A Fleeting Eclipse
8.06.2002
A lunar eclipse can be viewed in a leisurely fashion. Visible to anyone on the night side of planet Earth (weather permitting), totality often lasts an hour or so as the moon glides through the Earth's shadow. But a solar eclipse is more fleeting.
Portrait of an Infant Solar System
7.06.2002
This infant solar system was discovered posing along the lonely outskirts of the Rho Ophiuchi dark cloud, a star forming region 500 light-years from Earth. Enlarged in this infrared false-color portrait from the European...
Cone Nebula Infrared Close Up
6.06.2002
After astronauts repaired NICMOS - the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer - during the latest Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, astronomers were quick to turn the sophisticated instrument on the photogenic stellar nursery known as the Cone Nebula.
NGC 3621: Far Beyond the Local Group
5.06.2002
Far beyond the local group of galaxies lies NGC 3621, some 22 million light-years away. Found in the serpentine southern constellation Hydra, the loose spiral arms of this gorgeous island universe are loaded with luminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes.
A Martian Metamorphosis
4.06.2002
Is it an Escher, or Mars? Three different types of surfaces visible in the North Polar Cap of Mars morph into each other in a way perhaps reminiscent of the works of M. C. Escher. On the far left dark sand covers the ground, while the center shows a transition to a dune field.
Galaxy NGC 4388 Expels Huge Gas Cloud
3.06.2002
Why are huge clouds of gas billowing from spiral galaxy NGC 4388? The extent of the gas clouds, over 100,000 light-years, was unexpected before the Subaru Telescope took the above image. NGC 4388 has a bright energetic nucleus and so is classified as an active galaxy.
Cracks and Ridges on Europa
2.06.2002
Which way to the interstate? What appears to be a caricature of a complex highway system on Earth is actually a system of ridges and cracks on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. The distance between parallel ridges in the above photograph is typically about 1 kilometer.
NGC 2266: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog
1.06.2002
The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an attempt 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.
In Chandor Chasma on Mars
31.05.2002
Scroll right and dive into a spectacular canyon on Mars. This daytime infrared view, recently recorded by the THEMIS camera on board the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft, covers a 30 by 175 kilometer swath running along the canyon floor.
Orion Nebulosities
30.05.2002
Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's most recognizable constellations, the glowing Orion Nebula and the dark Horsehead Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas. They both appear in this stunning composite color photograph along with other nebulosities as part of the giant Orion Molecular Cloud complex, itself hundreds of light-years across.
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