Nasa Astronomy Picture of the Day

Roses are red, nebulas are too, and this Valentine's gift is a stunning view! Pictured is a loving look at the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237): a cosmic bloom of bright young stars sitting atop a stem of glowing hot gas. The rose’s blue-white speckles are among the most luminous stars in the galaxy, with some burning millions of times brighter than the Sun. Their stellar winds sculpt the famed rose shape by pushing gas and dust away from the center. Though only a few million years old, these massive stars are already nearing the end of their lives, while dimmer stars embedded in the nebula will burn for billions of years to come. The vibrant red hue comes from hydrogen gas, ionized by the ultraviolet light from the young stars. The rose’s blue-white center is color-mapped to indicate the presence of similarly ionized oxygen. The Rosette Nebula reminds us of the beauty and transformation woven into the fabric of the universe.

Other Blog Posts:

Satellite | Size rel. to other Satellites: Large

GSAT-3, also known as EDUSAT, was a communications satellite which was launched on 20 September 2004 by the Indian Space Research Organisation. EDUSAT is the first Indian satellite built exclusively to serve the educational sector. It is mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country.

Distance to Earth: 36,077 kmCreated at: 4/25/2021, 5:21 PM

Satellite | Size rel. to other Satellites: Small

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation being constructed by SpaceX providing satellite Internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), working in combination with ground transceivers. SpaceX plans to sell some of the satellites for military, scientific, or exploratory purposes. The SpaceX satellite development facility in Redmond, Washington houses the Starlink research, development, manufacturing, and orbit control. The cost of the decade-long project to design, build, and deploy the constellation was estimated by SpaceX in May 2018 to be at least US$10 billion.

Distance to Earth: 482 kmCreated at: 4/25/2021, 9:13 AM

Moon | Size rel. to other Moons: Small

Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. Both moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. Phobos is named after the Greek god Phobos, a son of Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus) and twin brother of Deimos. Phobos was the god and personification of fear and panic.

Distance to Planet: 6,000 kmCreated at: 4/24/2021, 2:21 PM