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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.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Möbius Arch Moonrise

Explanation: Only two days past full, February's moon shines through thin clouds, rising on the left in this fisheye night skyscape . The moonlight illuminates a weathered, rounded foreground in the Alabama Hills , conveniently located east of Mt. Whitney along the Sierra Nevada range in California, USA, planet Earth. Orion the Hunter stands at the right, a familiar northern winter constellation . Bright Jupiter, the solar system's ruling gas giant , is near center at the top of the frame. Below Jupiter, Sirius, alpha star of the Big Dog, poses above a bowed and twisted landform known as Möbius Arch, its curve reminiscent of the mathematically famous surface with only one side. Of course , instead of using rock, wind, and weather, a Möbius strip is easier to make with paper, scissors , and tape.

Date February 28, 2014
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: Laurie Hatch
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.