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.

2022 April 18
The featured image shows a very dark sky over the Mertola
steppe in Portugal. Visible night sky objects include the
Andromeda galaxy, the bright star Vega, planets Jupiter, Saturn,
and Mars, and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Stars and Planets over Portugal
Image Credit & Copyright: Miguel Claro (TWAN, Dark Sky Alqueva)

Explanation: The mission was to document night-flying birds -- but it ended up also documenting a beautiful sky. The featured wide-angle mosaic was taken over the steppe golden fields in Mértola, Portugal in 2020. From such a dark location, an immediately-evident breathtaking glow arched over the night sky: the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. But this sky had much more. Thin clouds crossed the sky like golden ribbons. The planet Mars appeared on the far left, while the planets Saturn and Jupiter were also simultaneously visible -- but on the opposite side of the sky, here seen on the far right. Near the top of the image the bright star Vega can be found, while the far-distant and faint Andromeda Galaxy can be seen toward the left, just below Milky Way's arch. As the current month progresses, several planets are lining up in the pre-dawn sky: Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn.

Did you know? Many APODs have links for adventure & humor
Tomorrow's picture: giant chicken


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