Astronomy Picture of the Day - May 9th, 2021 - Horsehead and Orion Nebulas (Narrated by Brian) The dark Horsehead Nebula and the glowing Orion Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas. Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's most recognizable constellations, they appear in opposite corners of the above stunning mosaic. The familiar Horsehead nebula appears as a dark cloud, a small silhouette notched against the long red glow at the lower left. Alnitak is the easternmost star in Orion's belt and is seen as the brightest star to the left of the Horsehead. Below Alnitak is the Flame Nebula, with clouds of bright emission and dramatic dark dust lanes. The magnificent emission region, the Orion Nebula (aka M42), lies at the upper right. Immediately to its left is a prominent reflection nebula sometimes called the Running Man. Pervasive tendrils of glowing hydrogen gas are easily traced throughout the region. Astrophysicists: Browse 2,500+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Colombari Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210509.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtGolGo3Lfo

Astronomy Picture of the Day - May 25th, 2022 - The Lively Center of the Lagoon Nebula (Narrated by Salli) The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a whirlwind of spectacular star formation. Visible near the image center, at least two long funnel-shaped clouds, each roughly half a light-year long, have been formed by extreme stellar winds and intense energetic starlight. A tremendously bright nearby star, Herschel 36, lights the area. Vast walls of dust hide and redden other hot young stars. As energy from these stars pours into the cool dust and gas, large temperature differences in adjoining regions can be created generating shearing winds which may cause the funnels. This picture, spanning about 10 light years, combines images taken in six colors by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 5000 light years distant toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). Almost hyperspace: Random APOD Generator Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220525.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHl0rgjep7M

Wikipedia Picture of the Day - October 2nd, 2020 - Lake Palčje (Narrated by Brian) Lake Palčje is an intermittent lake in a karst basin in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia, north of the settlement of Palčje. It is the largest among the seasonal lakes of Pivka, with an average maximum water area of around 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi). The lake bed is at groundwater level, so the amount of water depends on current hydrological conditions. Usually, the lake fills after the heavy rains in late autumn and again in spring, with water present for around three months every year. This photograph shows Lake Palčje drained in autumn. See also: Lake Palčje filled in early winter Photograph credit: Jernej Polajnar Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2020-10-02 This video was auto generated using data and media from Wikipedia. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vehgJTg1JI

Astronomy Picture of the Day - February 25th, 2024 - A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland (Narrated by Brian) All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am in Iceland, on a quiet September night, much of that night's auroras had died down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a new burst of particles streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once again. This time, surprisingly, pareidoliacally, the night lit up with an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while the small foreground river is called Kaldá, both located about 30 kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. Seasoned skywatchers will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible just above the frame center. The 2016 aurora, which lasted only a minute and was soon gone forever -- would possibly be dismissed as a fanciful fable -- were it not captured in the featured, digitally-composed, image mosaic. Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995) Image Credit & Copyright: Hallgrimur P. Helgason; Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240225.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykkHStx9uZw