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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

A skyscape is shown over a rocky landscape. In the starry sky are the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy on the left, a meteor trail on the right, the dim band of zodiacal light in the center, and the photographer holding a light just below the center. The path of the light is shown as a bright streak in the bottom part of the frame. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.A skyscape is shown over a rocky landscape. In the starry sky are the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy on the left, a meteor trail on the right, the dim band of zodiacal light in the center, and the photographer holding a light just below the center. The path of the light is shown as a bright streak in the bottom part of the frame. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

An Almost Everything Sky

Explanation: This surprising sky has almost everything. First, slanting down from the upper left and far in the distance is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy . More modestly, slanting down from the upper right and high in Earth's atmosphere is a bright meteor . The dim band of light across the central diagonal is zodiacal light : sunlight reflected from dust in the inner Solar System . The green glow on the far right is aurora high in Earth's atmosphere . The bright zigzagging bright line near the bottom is just a light that was held by the scene-planning astrophotographer . This “ almost everything ” sky was captured over rocks on Castle Hill , New Zealand late last month. The featured finished frame is a combination of 10 exposures all taken with the same camera and from the same location. But what about the astrophotographer himself? He's pictured too -- can you find him ?

Jigsaw Fun: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

Date April 23, 2025
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: Koen van Barneveld
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.