APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 4 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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 Not-So-Hidden Galaxy, IC 342 Explanation: “I see” IC 342, the Hidden Galaxy! Today’s image peers through the plane of the Milky Way , through all its gas, dust and stars, to unveil this spiral galaxy . IC 342 (or Caldwell 5 ) is one of the brightest members of the IC 342/ Maffei group of galaxies. Located about 10 million light years away, this group is quite close to the Local Group that includes our Milky Way. Inaccurate accounting of the crowded and dusty Milky Way foreground has led to misunderstandings in IC 342’s history, including the theory that the galaxy was ejected from the Local Group . IC 342 has its own dust intermittently blocking the glow of hydrogen gas , indicating the presence of bright, young stars. Magnetic field maps of IC 342 reveal that magnetic fields may contribute substantially to one of the biggest galactic puzzles: how do spiral arms form ? Tomorrow’s picture: open space Date: November 4, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Artem Mironov Authors & editors: Keighley Rockcliffe, Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 November 3 – Comet PanSTARRs and Rainbow Meteor Tomorrow’s Image

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 1 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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. Colors of the Moon Explanation: What color is the Moon? It depends on the night — and the time. Outside of the Earth’s atmosphere , the dark Moon , which shines by reflected sunlight, appears a magnificent ly brown-tinged gray. The featured image highlights a collection of apparent colors of the full moon on Earth, documented by one astrophotographer over 10 years from different locations across Italy . A red – or yellow -colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon . There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth’s atmosphere , sometimes laden with fine dust. A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles . What created the purple moon is unclear — it may be a combination of several effects. The last image captures the total lunar eclipse of 2018 July — where the moon, in Earth’s shadow , appeared a faint red — due to light refracted through air around the Earth. Have you ever seen an unusually colorful Moon? Tomorrow’s picture: open space Date: November 1, 2026 Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 October 31 – Night on a Spooky Planet Tomorrow’s Image

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 2 – A… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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. A Long Cloud on Mars Explanation: What’s causing this unusually long cloud on Mars ? Known as the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (AMEC) and first recorded by NASA’s Viking Orbiter 2 in 1977, the strange cloud has been imaged in greater detail more recently by ESA ’s robotic Mars Express spacecraft. The featured image is from 2018. The cloud forms only during spring and summer seasons and then only during morning hours. Made of water-ice, the most familiar process that causes cloud crystals to form around bits of dust would fail due to the thinness and lack of dust high in the Martian atmosphere . Leading speculation holds that dust is not involved. After the cloud forms near the volcano Arsia Mons , wind blows the cloud downstream — creating a tail that can extend over 1500 kilometers. Efforts to better understand AMEC s will continue, an understanding that may bolster a more complete view of cloud formation on Earth . Tomorrow’s picture: eyeing a cat Date: November 2, 2026 Credit: ESA , DLR , FU Berlin ; Processing & License : J. Cowart Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC , NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. Random APOD Generator Yesterday’s Image APOD: 2026 November 1 – Colors of the Moon Tomorrow’s Image

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 4 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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 Not-So-Hidden […]

There is a galaxy hiding in plain sight, a celestial body so faint and obscured by dust that it has long been invisible to the unaided eye and even many professional telescopes.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 1 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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. Colors of the […]

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 November 3 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD 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. Comet PanSTARRs and […]