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.

2016 April 22

NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA)

 

Explanation: Blown by the wind from a massive star, this interstellar apparition has a surprisingly familiar shape. Cataloged as NGC 7635, it is also known simply as The Bubble Nebula. Although it looks delicate, the 7 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Above and left of the Bubble’s center is a hot, O-type star, several hundred thousand times more luminous and around 45 times more massive than the Sun. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from that star has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. The intriguing Bubble Nebula and associated cloud complex lie a mere 7,100 light-years away toward the boastful constellation Cassiopeia. This sharp, tantalizing view of the cosmic bubble is a composite of Hubble Space Telescope image data from 2016, released to celebrate the 26th anniversary of Hubble’s launch.

Smallest full moon of 2016 on April 22

Tonight – April 22, 2016 – it’s the farthest full moon, and smallest full moon, of the year. We’ve heard it called the micro-moon or mini-moon. This full moon comes less than one day after reaching lunar apogee, the moon’s farthest point in its monthly orbit. It lies some 30 thousand miles (50 thousand km) farther from Earth than 2016’s closest full moon – a supermoon – due on November 14.

Every year has a closest full moon, and a farthest full moon. The mini-moon often returns about one month and 18 days later with each passing year, meaning that, in 2017, the year’s smallest full moon will come on June 9.

In 2018, the year’s smallest full moon will fall on July 27; and in 2019, the smallest full moon will occur on September 14. The micro-moon or mini-moon frequently recurs in periods of 14 lunar months (14 returns to full moon).

The crest of the moon’s full phase comes on April 22, 2016 at precisely 5:24 Universal Time.

Although the full moon occurs at the same instant all around the world, our clocks read differently in various time zones. In the United States, the moon turns exactly full on April 22, at 1:24 a.m. EDT, 12:24 a.m. CDT, and on April 21 at 11:24 p.m. MDT and 10:24 p.m. PST.

So in the Americas, the full moon happens on the night of April 21-22, and may have already passed by the time you are reading this post.

Meanwhile, your calendar probably says that April 22 is the full moon.

No matter where you live worldwide, look for the moon to look plenty full on the night of April 22. As with any moon near the vicinity of full moon, it’ll light up the nighttime from early evening until dawn.

In North America, we often call the April full moon by the names of Pink Moon, Grass Moon, Egg Moon or Fish Moon.

But in recent years, we’ve also heard the term micro-moon to describe the year’s smallest full moon. It’s not a name (like Pink Moon) tied to skylore. It’s not bound to a particular month or season.

It’s just a modern term to describe the year’s smallest moon.

Like most astronomers, we at EarthSky used to call the year’s smallest full moon an apogee full moon.

The terms mini-moon and micro-moon stem from popular culture. They roll off the tongue more easily than apogee full moon. As some indication of the appellation’s growing popularity, we’ve found that the NASA Astronomy Photo of the Day and timeanddate.org sites both like to call the year’s smallest full moon a micro-moon.

In many respects, the micro-moon is the antithesis of a supermoon. The micro-moon, or the full moon aligning with apogee, is the polar opposite of a full moon supermoon, the full moon coinciding with perigee.

Every month for the next seven months, the full moon will come closer and closer to Earth until the November 14 supermoon, closest full moon of the year.

That November full moon will be the year’s biggest and brightest moon, only 221,524 miles (356,509 km) away. That’s in contrast to the moon’s mean distance from Earth of about 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles).

In fact, the November 14, 2016, supermoon will be closer to Earth than the moon has been thus far in the 21st century (2001-2100). The moon won’t come so close again until the full moon of November 25, 2034.

But it’s the December, 2052, full moon that’ll outdo them all. It’ll stage the closest and largest supermoon of the 21st century (2001 to 2100).

Bottom line: The micro-moon or mini-moon – smallest full moon of 2016 – comes on April 22. It lies about 30,000 miles (50,000 km) farther away from Earth than the full moon supermoon of November 14, 2016.

 

Author

Bruce McClure

The Wisdom of Buddha

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

Your Daily Influences
April 22nd, 2016

 

 

The Empress Reversed
This card represents infertility, instability and the loss of material possessions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jera
Jera denotes positive, recurring cycles, fertility and a time to harvest rewards from your hard work.

 

 

 

 

The Menat
You will find focusing on this aspect difficult, because truths will be obscured by dreaminess and illusion. You will not accomplish much here in the next several weeks, and therefore should focuss your attention elsewhere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Daily Influences represent events and challenges the current day will present for you. They may represent opportunities you should be ready to seize. Or they may forewarn you of problems you may be able to avoid or lessen. Generally it is best to use them as tips to help you manage your day and nothing more.

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Tree

The Tree symbolizes spiritual health and growth. The healthy tree is rooted in a rich, nurturing medium, has a strong trunk from which leaf laden branches fan out to capture the sun’s energy. The Tree represents a healthy spirit entrenched in experience and strengthened by wisdom. It is a spirit that is happy with itself, but continues reaching to become even wiser, more complete, happier, stronger. While The Tree represents a strong and independent spirit, it is also a life-force that owes much of its strength and growth to being surrounded by other healthy spirits.

As a daily card, The Tree denotes a time when your spiritual self is especially powerful and open for further growth. Now is a time for you to seek out streams of wisdom and knowledge that you can not only draw from but contribute to as well. Don’t disregard sources that seem improbable, as they often produce the most profound revelations and spiritual expansion.

Daily Witches Rune

The Birds

Keywords: Unexpected news, change.

Meanings: The Birds Rune means some unexpected news that may alter your life completely, especially if this is the leading rune. Generally, the news will lead to a positive change but pay close attention to the nearest runes to determine its nature. It can also mean news of friends or family that you haven’t had contact with in quite a while. Letters and documents should be watched for as they may well bring happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

Get A Jump on Tomorrow….

Your Daily Horoscopes for Saturday, April 23rd

 

Aries

Flowing, easy energy is with you on a social level today, dear Aries. You could be feeling quite lucky these days. It may not be reliable luck so don’t count your chickens before they hatch or completely throw caution to the wind, but do enjoy more spontaneity than usual now. Keep a positive frame of mind, but also peace of mind by using common sense as well as drawing upon your intuition. Physical outlets for some of the deep desires for freedom and excitement you are experiencing now can be especially rewarding. Activities that allow you more creative, spontaneous, and freeform expression can help you to channel the tremendous creative energy you are experiencing in constructive ways.

Taurus

Forward-looking and positive energy is with you today, dear Taurus, even if you’re looking to the past more than usual these days. In fact, you may be feeling quite optimistic about putting something burdensome behind you. You could be receiving prophetic glimpses into your future through your dreams, gut feelings, or via ideas you are picking up from the atmosphere and people around you. Deep inner changes are brewing, and today you may not know exactly what they are, but you are definitely feeling that change is necessary. Love feelings are intense and stimulating. You might enjoy performing a generous act behind the scenes or anonymously today, or find joy in a secret.

Gemini

Today, opportunities for cooperation, loving and personal gestures, and shared happiness emerge, dear Gemini. You can feel especially hopeful about friendships and your future in general. Others might extend kindnesses to you now, and some of you can enjoy new or renewed friendships. The warmth you generate today is likely to be a benefit to you right now and long into the future – little gestures have impact. You feel particularly friendly and sociable, but you are also highly motivated to work and produce. Helping out a friend or acquaintance can give you a real boost now. A person or group association that is more creative, visionary, unusual, or unconventional can figure strongly in your life.

Cancer

New insights into your career or life path are coming now, dear Cancer, and it’s important to listen not only to what your intuition is telling you, but also to what seems to be coming from out of the blue – synchronicity and other chance events. You are feeling especially in sync right now as things seem to be falling into place, even if there is no overt plan. Your approach is visionary, original, and confident right now. You might benefit from word of mouth or positive word on what you’re doing. You can also be feeling quite optimistic about your career or social standing today, and you may find that a progressive and innovative approach is rewarded most right now.

Leo

It’s an excellent day for feeling strong, motivated, and optimistic for the future, dear Leo. Something can come out of left field now that boosts your spirits, and this can be as simple as a compliment received. Your ability to react positively to circumstances gives your personality an especially lively quality today. The desire to explore the world beyond your usual daily routines is strong, and you could be enjoying dreams of, or opportunities for, travel and new learning experiences. You can be meeting people who truly contribute to your vision, and you quickly lose interest in any lifeless, dry interactions that might occur now. Your powers of attraction are good. Freedom of movement is especially important to you right now, as any feeling of being tied to a particular place or routine can leave you feeling stifled.

Virgo

You have a generous and expansive approach to the world today, dear Virgo. Love relationships can be exciting, or self-discovery profound. There may be a twist of sorts – an enjoyable surprise – that keeps you on your toes, or you are discovering or rediscovering desires and interests. Insight into your finances or something in your intimate, inner life can come now. This is a period of freeing yourself from compulsive behavior that has been holding you back. You might experience a moment of truth, as well as motivation to kick a bad habit and to live a freer, more joyful life as a result. This evening, there can be a tendency to make more of a disagreement than necessary. Otherwise, there is forward-looking energy that stimulates a strong desire to innovate and make changes and improvements to your life.

Libra

You stand to gain tremendous insight into your close partnerships or into your relationship needs today and tomorrow, dear Libra, as your ruler, loving Venus, awakener Uranus, and growth-oriented Jupiter align in declination. Changes in relationships in recent times seem to have been thrust upon you, as if you had no say in the matter. However, you might come to an enlightening realization now that the changes were something that you needed in order to grow. Freeing yourself from the role of passive bystander in your own life is what this is all about, and it’s empowering indeed. You are embracing new people or new ways of interacting with others. You are expressing real confidence and you have a strong desire to move forward.

Scorpio

Adapting to a changeable working environments or conditions can be stressful at times, dear Scorpio, but also more rewarding when you realize you can meet the challenges, and especially if it prompts new, improved, and innovative approaches. You are learning new skills that will benefit you for years to come. Perhaps more importantly, you are recognizing your ability to adapt while maintaining your own personal style. Today is a creative one in which you welcome spontaneous expression and feel confident enough to truly enjoy yourself without feeling the weight of worldly responsibilities. Good humor can be healing.

Sagittarius

Today’s energies are exciting, dear Sagittarius. A moment of truth in a love relationship or about your relationship needs can occur now. A changing attitude towards love can emerge. This is a time of creative inspiration, unusual events that alter your thought patterns, and fruitful, exciting connections. You are likely to be seen in an especially positive light right now. As the center of attention today, you may be tempted to turn up the charm, but aim instead for sincerity – it will be appreciated most! You don’t need to strain right now, just relax and be yourself. The Moon in your privacy sector all day suggests some need for withdrawal, time alone, and reflection.

Capricorn

There can be some excitement in the air today, dear Capricorn, and a real sense that you can make positive changes and improvements to your life. It’s a potentially strong day for warmth with family and close loved ones. Changes occurring in your life in recent years may have been dizzying at times, as you may have felt that you were not quite ready for them. However, you may be recognizing that you have been freeing yourself from past conditioning, automatic behaviors that have not served you well, and relationships that were unhealthy. You are looking forward now and feeling positive about your “new” life. A meeting with a friend today can be inspiring, although some misunderstandings are possible if we are not seeing the intention behind the words communicated.

Aquarius

There is good energy for discovery and optimism today, dear Aquarius. You can enjoy wonderful conversations of hear something now that truly benefits you and boosts your understanding. You are exposed to ideas that open new worlds for you. There can be an epiphany of sorts, or you might find a solution to a problem that has previously left you stumped. You might surprise yourself by opening up and sharing something that you have kept to yourself in the past. Your appeal is strong, particularly when it comes to your optimism, perspective, humor, and moral character. There can be new insights and developments in learning areas, studies, in your neighborhood or with siblings, or in activity surrounding communication. You might read something that inspires you to change your learning focus, to write about a topic you hadn’t considered before, or through channels that you have never tried, for example.

Pisces

The more positive energy you radiate, the more opportunities open up today, dear Pisces, with Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus in strong aspect. There is more willingness to experience life to its fullest, and you are ready to make positive changes and improvements. You attract the right people and the right resources, and encounters with others are more likely to work to your advantage. Opportunities to make more money could emerge now. There could be a cool find or a happy purchase/gift. Positive energy for making money or business dealings can be with you, and the more innovative the method the better at the moment. Your enterprising spirit is strong this week.

 

If You Were Born Today, April 22

 

You are a perfectionist with an unusual perspective on the world. Both imaginative and conservative,  you have a knack for bringing both worlds to whatever you do. While you are charming and witty, you can be impatient with others when they are not following quickly enough or they are otherwise in your way!

Famous people born today: Jack Nicholson, Glen Campbell, Peter Frampton, Amber Heard, Francis Capra, Aaron Spelling.

Your Birthday Year Forecast

A Full Moon in your Solar Return chart marks this as a year of great personal significance, when major new beginnings, endings, and activities occur. This period is the culmination of a stage of personal growth and development. Events occurring this year may bring various developments in your emotional, psychological, or spiritual life over the past several years to a head. Relationships are especially important. There can be increased activity in your professional and public life, causing a conflict with your domestic and personal goals. There is little moderation in your life this year. Connections are made or ended; or your job focus may change as one focus fades to make way for a new direction. The year ahead is certain to be a very busy, dynamic, and significant period in your life.

This is an excellent year in which to advance projects revolving around communications – writing, speaking, selling, and so forth. Your reputation may be enhanced through word of mouth. Making new contacts through learning and mental pursuits figures strongly as well.

This is an excellent period for opening up communications with others, as you are more sensitive than usual and more willing to listen. Getting your point across is easier, as it’s not only about what specific words you choose to communicate, you intuitively express the meaning and intention behind the words. You can effectively use words to soothe, heal, and teach this year. You are also especially open to new ways of looking at problems, thus it’s considerably easier to find solutions. You may be gaining respect for your ideas and intelligence.

There may be a project, idea, or person that demands much of your attention or occupies much of your thoughts. It’s a strong time for any project or studies that require concentrated effort. You are especially resourceful.

You can be especially persuasive and convincing in your communications, whether written or oral, and your perceptions are especially acute. You are inclined to do a lot of “digging”, researching, analyzing, investigating, and getting to the bottom of things. Increased psychological awareness of yourself and others can benefit you greatly, and employing strategy in your decision making is easier than usual this year. Relationships with younger people may be especially rewarding and meaningful.

This is a good year, generally speaking, for motivation levels regarding work or projects and personal interests. There can be opportunities to pursue absorbing topics and projects of interest. More joy and meaning can be found in your work or obligations.

However, you need to be aware of a tendency to be attracted to impractical ventures at times this year. As well, your energy can vary greatly from one period to the next, so take advantage of the “high” periods in order to offset the possible loss in productivity during the low-energy stages.

You may be dealing with some power struggles in your relationships or regarding possessions and finances. Persistence will pay off in the end, and the need to remove yourself from overly stressful situations can become obvious. Changes in your love life and/or financial state are likely this year with Venus conjunct Uranus in your Solar Return chart. It may be that you experience sudden changes or breakups with a friend or lover. However, the chance of a sudden new friendship is just as likely.

This is a potentially excellent year for communications, learning, and connecting. You may be making good contacts with others, particularly through shared interests or schooling. Positive plans and lifestyle changes can be made at this time in your life. There will be times when you battle with varying energy levels, so take advantage of the periods of high motivation. There can be a need to reorganize finances.

2016 is a Number Eight year for you. Ruled by Saturn. This is a year of power and accomplishment. Actively seeking to expand, taking educated risks, and moving forward are highlighted. This is a year of opportunity, particularly in the material and business world, and opportunities need to be seized. It’s generally not a year to find a new love partner, simply because the focus is on the material world and your place in the world. This is a problem-solving year in which you can expect real, tangible results. Advice – take action, plan ahead, seize opportunities.

2017 will be a Number Nine year for you. Ruled by Mars. This is a year of completion and transition. It is a time when we need to let go of things that no longer serve their purpose, and hold on to things that have a future. It is a time of cleaning out dead wood, not necessarily for new beginnings. It can be a time when a burden has been taken off your shoulders, and it can be a year of giving of yourself. Advice – let go of things that are holding you back, give of yourself and express your sympathetic, compassionate side.

Courtesy of Cafe Astrology