Episodes

In today's image, we see the Odysseus lander as it makes its first contact with the lunar surface. One landing leg is visible and broken which causes the lander to be on a tilt. However, it is still able to perform essential operations, despite is positioning. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive l...

In today's image, we see the Parkes Radio Telescope dish in Australia. We note that it is pointed in the direction of our Moon, allowing us to receive faint signals from the Odysseus Lander which landed near the lunar South Pole. Since the lander ended up tilted, its more powerful antenna cannot point toward Earth, meaning the large telescope is needed to detect the radio signals from the craft. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized...

In today's image, we see an old Roman coin showing the image of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar was responsible for helping to incorporate the leap day into the calendar. This is needed because there are not an even number of days in a year, which causes the calendar to drift if not taken into account. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Pictu...

In today's image, we see a set of images taken shortly after sunset. We are looking in the direction opposite to the setting Sun. We see the various shades the sky goes through as night falls in each successive vertical strip in the image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image t...

In today's image, we see the supernova remnant known as Simeis 147 and also known sometimes as the Spaghetti Nebula. A remnant like this is left behind when a massive star reached the end of its life and explodes. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresp...

In today's image, we see the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos as one passes in front of the other causing an eclipse. An eclipse can occur anywhere where one object passes in front of another. However, it is generally reserved for two objects of comparable size. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the arc...

In today's image, we see an aurora which may resemble the shape of a phoenix rising up over the horizon. The patterns are random, but our minds try to put some kind of order to the randomness which allows us to see patterns things like the aurora and clouds. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive lin...

In today's image, we see an image of a portion of the Moon taken a couple of days ago by the Odysseus craft shortly before it landed near the lunar South Pole. This was the first US craft to land on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission back in 1972. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below t...

In today's image, we see what is known as the Pencil Nebula. This is a portion of the Veil Supernova remnant, the material left behind by a star seen so explode here on Earth over 10,000 years ago. The shockwave continues to expand outward, enriching the interstellar medium with heavier elements. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture ...

In today's image, we see galaxies in the direction of the handle of the Big Dipper. This includes the spiral galaxy known as M106 which we see to the left side of our image. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast. I w...

In today's image, we see the Seagull Nebula. This is an example of an emission nebula showing the red glow of hydrogen gas which is caused by nearby stars emitting ultraviolet light which is energetic enough to excite the hydrogen atoms. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to ...

In today's image, we see galaxies in the process of collision. When galaxies collide, the stars pass right by one another while the larger gas clouds will collide together and increase star formation. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the...

In today's image, we see a video clip showing 11 days of images from the Parker Solar Probe. This craft, currently in orbit around the Sun, passes closer to the Sun with each orbit giving us a better understanding of the nearest star to Earth. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the ima...

In today's image, we see an example of a ring galaxy. We see two distinct parts of the galaxy which appear to be separated by a gap. The underlying cause as to why a ring galaxy forms is unknown. However, various hypotheses have been put forward. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the ...

In today's image, we see a meteor that happened to occur at the time of the photograph. This is a small bit of material - a dust grain - that is being vaporized in Earth's upper atmosphere. In this case, the trail of the meteor happened to be pointing in the direction of Mount Vesuvius which destroyed the city of Pompeii in 79 AD. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and webs...

In today's image, we see the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. The comet is currently heading to the inner solar system and will reach its closest approach to the Sun on April 21. This is just a couple of weeks after the total solar eclipse of April 8 of this year. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link be...

In today's image, we see an example of a spiral galaxy. We can see many of the distinct features of star formation here including the dark dusty regions, the blue color of the spiral arms from the light of hot, young stars, and the pink glow of hydrogen gas excited by ultraviolet light from these hot stars. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astrono...

In today's image, we see the region around the Rosette Nebula. This is a region of star formation and we see the red glow caused by the excitation of hydrogen gas by the hot, young stars that have formed in the area. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corr...

In today's image, we see the full moon from this past month. The January full moon is often called the Wolf Moon. One full moon generally occurs each month - this is where our concept of a month comes from - it takes just about one month for our Moon to go through one full cycle of phases. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the ...

In today's image, we see two examples of planetary nebulae in the direction of the constellation of Cassiopeia. A planetary nebula is the end state of a star much like our own Sun. It has exhausted the hydrogen fuel in its core and the outer layers expand. The glow because they are energized by ultraviolet light from the white dwarf star forming in the core. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You c...

In today's image, we see the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis from 2001. We note how the exhaust behind the shuttle changes color. From the lower portion, the plume is at a level where the Sun has already set. At a higher level, the plume is still illuminated by the Sun which is not below the horizon yet from this height. Because of the precise positioning, the plume's shadow points straight back to the Moon. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcas...

In today's image, we see part of the Martian surface as imaged from the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars. This is the result of the 72nd and final mission of the helicopter over the past three years. Contact was lost and part of the rotor blade was damaged as seen in the shadow. However, this mission was still a great success as it demonstrated the possibility of powered flight on another world for the first time. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast i...

In today's image, we see the Rosette Nebula. This is an example of an emission nebula that would normally glow red because of the emission of hydrogen gas. However, this is a narrowband image which looks at the light of three specific wavelengths and then maps them to the RGB colors. this allows us to see the detail in the gas in more detail than in other images. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. ...

In today's image, we see one of the brightest globular star clusters in our galaxy, known as 47 Tuc. Globular star clusters are some of the oldest parts of our galaxy and give us a glimpse into the early history of our galaxy as well as a better idea of our own position within the Milky Way. My podcasts are available in video form through this YouTube Channel. This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of th...