Tag: Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 15th

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.

Rover Arrives at Endeavour Crater on Mars
Image Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Cornell, JPL, NASAExplanation: What can the present-day terrain in and around large Endeavour crater tell us about ancient Mars? Starting three years ago, NASA sent a coffee-table sized robot named Opportunity on a mission rolling across the red planet’s Meridiani Planum to find out. Last week, it finally arrived. Expansive Endeavour crater stretches 22 kilometers from rim to rim, making it the largest crater ever visited by a Mars Exploration Rover (MER). It is hypothesized that the impact that created the crater exposed ancient rock that possibly formed under wet conditions, and if so, this rock may yield unique clues to the watery past of Mars. Pictured above, the west rim of Endeavour looms just ahead of the Opportunity rover. Opportunity may well spend the rest of its operational life exploring Endeavour, taking pictures, spinning its wheels, and boring into intriguing rocks.

Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 10th

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.

The Summer Triangle Over Catalonia

Image Credit: Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (TWAN)Explanation: Can you find the Summer Triangle? It’s not hard to find this famous triangle of stars this time of year from northern locations. Just look straight up after sunset and find three of the brightest stars in the sky that nearly form a triangle. Then compare these stars to sky images like the one shown above, or hold up a smart phone running a good sky labelling application. The three stars that form the vertexes of the Summer Triangle are Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Pictured above is a 360 degree full sky projection framing not only the Summer Triangle but the great arch of our Milky Way Galaxy. The image was taken last week in front of a small river that encircles the historic town of Sant Llorenç de la Muga in Catalonia, northeastern Spain.