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Astronomy Picture Of the Day (APOD)
The Witch Head Nebula
28.12.2003
Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble -- maybe Macbeth should have consulted the Witch Head Nebula. This suggestively shaped reflection nebula is associated with the bright star Rigel in the constellation Orion.
Trifid Pillars and Jets
27.12.2003
Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains. They survive because they are more dense than their surroundings, but they are being slowly eroded away by a hostile environment. Visible in the above picture...
The Pleiades Star Cluster
26.12.2003
Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and closest open clusters.
Young Star, Dark Cloud
25.12.2003
High-speed outflows of molecular gas from a young stellar object glow in infrared light, revealing themselves in this recent false-color image from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Cataloged as HH (Herbig-Haro) 46/47 the infrared source...
Venus and the 37 Hour Moon
24.12.2003
At Table Mountain Observatory, near Wrightwood California, USA on October 26, wild fires were approaching from the east. But looking toward the west just after sunset, astronomer James Young could still enjoy this comforting view of a young crescent Moon and brilliant Venus through the the fading twilight. Setting over the horizon of Mt.
Layered Hills on Mars
23.12.2003
Why are some hills on Mars so layered? The answer is still under investigation. Clearly, dark windblown sand surrounds outcropping of light sedimentary rock across the floor of crater Arabia Terra. The light rock clearly appears structured into many layers, the lowest of which is likely very old.
Comet Encke Returns
22.12.2003
It's back. Every 3.3 years, Comet Encke swoops back into our inner Solar System. First officially discovered in 1786, Comet Encke is on its 59 th documented return, making it one of the best-studied comets on the sky.
The Andromeda Galaxy from GALEX
21.12.2003
Why does the Andromeda Galaxy have a giant ring? Viewed in ultraviolet light, the closet major galaxy to our Milky Way Galaxy looks more like a ring galaxy than a spiral. The ring...
N159 and the Papillon Nebula
20.12.2003
In a search for massive stars, the Hubble Space Telescope has peered into yet another spectacular region of star formation. This nebula, known as N159, spans over 150 light-years and is located in the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy, about 170,000 light years distant.
The Flight of Helios
19.12.2003
An example of solar-powered flight, NASA's Helios aircraft flew almost one hundred years after the Wright brothers' historic flight on December 17, 1903. Pictured here at 10,000 feet in in skies northwest of Kauai, Hawaii in August 2001, the remotely piloted Helios is traveling at about 25 miles per hour.
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