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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. Moving the cursor over the image will bring up an annotated version. Clicking on the image will bring up the highest resolution version available.See Explanation. Moving the cursor over the image will bring up an annotated version. Clicking on the image will bring up the highest resolution version available.

The Teapot and the Milky Way

Explanation: The recognizable stars of the Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius posed with the Milky Way over Death Valley, planet Earth on this quiet, dark night . The surreal scene was appropriately captured from Teakettle Junction , marked by the wooden sign adorned with terrestrial teapots and kettles on the rugged road to Racetrack Playa . Shining against the luminous starlight of the central Milky Way is bright planet Saturn , just above the star at the celestial teapot 's peak. But the brightest celestial beacon, high above the southern horizon, is an orange tinted Mars at upper left in the frame .

Date July 20, 2018
Credit Image Credit & Copyright: Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn ( Weather and Sky Photography )
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.