Saturday, September 29, 2018

The Beads of Time


Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a time lapse showing the path of Saturn (Cronos, Time) across the night sky. "Mouseover" the image in the link to show a "true image" showing the wavering path across the heavens.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Galactic Triangle


If Messier 33, The Triangulum Galaxy, was as bright to our eyes over its "surface" as Sirius was, today's Astronomy Picture of the Day would be the sight that greeted us in our evening skies. Oh, to be on some extra-galactic wanderer with that as your sight!

Monday, September 24, 2018

Rock Hoppers



On occasion, classic science fiction refers to asteroid miners as "rock hoppers" (usually the term is "belter", but there's a lot of classic science fiction). Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day brings us actual rock hoppers in the form of micro probes exploring the surface of Asteroid Ryugu.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Figure Eight



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows an analemma (the path of the Sun in the sky) over the standing stones of Callanish. "Mouseover" the image in the link to match snapshots of the Sun with dates of the year.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Sky Drapes



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows auroral activity spotted over the skies of Hudson Bay. Alas, while I was recently fairly north, we did not see anything like this!

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Monday, September 17, 2018

Saturday, September 15, 2018

The Cruel Sky



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the snow-capped peak of Mont Blanc, scuddering clouds, the serene Milky Way and a transient interloper in the form of a fleeting Perseid.

Friday, September 14, 2018

HALO



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day breaks down the details of a Sun Halo. "Mouseover" the image in the link to see what is what.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

The Crowded Sky



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a crowded sky. Off in the galactic distance, the nebula and rich starfields of the constellation of Auriga. Close in, relatively speaking, a visitor to the inner system, Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Phasing



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing the nightly shifts in the appearance of the Moon. Click on the link in order to see the video.

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Monday, September 10, 2018

View from the Ridge



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a short video showing the full panoramic view from Vera Rubin Ridge of Mount Sharp, the current area of operations for MSL Curiosity. Click on the link to see the video (image above is static).

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Friday, September 7, 2018

Hex



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows the North Polar Hexagon of Saturn, as taken by the Cassini Orbiter in 2012. And you thought Jupiter's Great Red Spot was a planetary oddity!

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Bowshock Filaments



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows filaments of the Veil Nebula, the "western" part of the overall structure. The nebula is remnants of a supernova event, marking the progress of the shockwave through interstellar space.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Lava Moon



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day shows a full Moon rising over a lava fountain. It puts me in mind of the birth of the Moon as depicted in the cheesy classic One Million Years B.C. and the birth of a second moon as depicted in the equally cheesy classic Crack in the World. Ah, the cinema!


Monday, September 3, 2018

Halo Effect



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is an image from the lamented Cassini Orbiter, taken in 2017, and combined with an image from the venerable (and still functioning, long may it do so!) Hubble Space Telescope.

What is happening on Saturn? Auroral activity. Imagine being on the "surface" (well, maybe in a balloon!) and being able to view both those auroras and those rings!

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Wisps



Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day combines data from Earth-observing satellites to show the presence and pathways of sea salt aerosols, carbon aerosols and dust aerosols across our blue planet.