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Morrone","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-22|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/WR134morrone1024.jpg","id":3360,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/WR134morrone2048.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Luigi Morrone","published_at":"2026-05-22T00:00:00","published_at_display":"22 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"This cosmic snapshot covers a field of view over twice as wide as the full Moon within the boundaries of the high-flying constellation Cygnus. Made using astronomical narrowband filters, the image highlights the bright edge of a ring-like nebula traced by the glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen gas. Embedded in the region's expanse of interstellar clouds, the complex, glowing arcs are sections of shells of material swept up by the wind from Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, the brightest star near image center. Distance estimates put WR 134 about 6,000 light-years away, making this telescopic frame over 100 light-years across. Shedding their outer envelopes in powerful stellar winds, massive Wolf-Rayet stars have burned through their nuclear fuel at a prodigious rate and end their final phase of massive star evolution in a spectacular supernova. Their stellar winds and final supernova explosion enrich the interstellar material with heavy elements to be incorporated in future generations of stars.","title":"The Nebulous Realm of WR 134","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/WR134morrone1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-21|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/a2029.jpg","id":3296,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/a2029_lg.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-21T00:00:00","published_at_display":"21 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"This big beautiful spiral shines in X-ray light. It is about 20 times larger than our Galaxy. It belongs to Abell 2029, a galaxy cluster one billion light-years away. (To see only the galaxies, hover your cursor over the image, or follow this link.) Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe that are supported by gravity. Abell 2029 is formed by thousands of galaxies, surrounded by a huge cloud of hot gas and the equivalent of hundreds of trillions times the mass of the Sun in dark matter. The spiral is made of gas, mostly hydrogen and helium, heated to tens of millions of degrees. It was found in a recent study that used data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to show that Abell 2029 had a collision with a smaller cluster four billion years ago. The collision affected the gravitational field and caused the intracluster gas to slosh, like wine moving in a wine glass, shaping the spiral.","title":"A Collision of Galaxy Clusters","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/a2029.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"William Vrbasso Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-20|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/dark_wolf_1024.jpg","id":3241,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/dark_wolf.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"William Vrbasso Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","published_at":"2026-05-20T00:00:00","published_at_display":"20 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"A dark wolf lies in gum. No, this isn\u2019t a riddle! Today's image features the Dark Wolf Nebula (Sandqvist\u2013Lindroos 17), a spooky dust cloud embedded within the Gum 55 (RCW 113) Nebula in the Scorpius constellation. While dust is a pest to us, it serves a vital role in creating the necessary conditions for stars to be born. The Dark Wolf absorbs the intense ultraviolet and visible light emitted by young stars in Gum 55 and re-emits it at longer, mainly infrared, wavelengths. This prevents the higher energy light from heating up the gas in the region. When a region of gas is cool enough, gravity takes over and causes the gas to collapse into a star. Not only does dust act as an interstellar thermostat, but it is also the meet-cute for single hydrogen atoms forming molecular hydrogen, the building block for stars. The seemingly sinister Dark Wolf is actually a harbinger of cosmic life.","title":"The Dark Wolf Nebula","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/dark_wolf_1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Jason Marriott","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-19|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Angel_Marriott_960.jpg","id":3094,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Angel_Marriott_1707.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Jason Marriott","published_at":"2026-05-19T00:00:00","published_at_display":"19 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Is this a painting or a photograph? In this celestial abstract art composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170, also known as the Angel Nebula, shines just above the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae, and a backdrop of colorful stars. Like the common household items that abstract painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars featured here are also commonly found in a setting like this one -- a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros). The giant molecular cloud Mon R2, is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 60 light-years across. Almost Hyperspace: Random APOD Generator","title":"NGC 2170: The Angel Nebula","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Angel_Marriott_960.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Simone Curzi","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-18|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/ngc3169_ngc3166_ngc3165px1024.jpg","id":3052,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/ngc3169_ngc3166_ngc3165.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Simone Curzi","published_at":"2026-05-18T00:00:00","published_at_display":"18 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, south of bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166 interact gravitationally. Eventually the galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep and colorful galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years at the group's estimated distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165 to the right. NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum from radio to X-rays, harboring an active galactic nucleus that is the site of a supermassive black hole.","title":"Unraveling NGC 3169","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/ngc3169_ngc3166_ngc3165px1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-17|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/NGC1300_HST_1080.jpg","id":3027,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/NGC1300_HST_6637.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-17T00:00:00","published_at_display":"17 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Across the center of this spiral galaxy is a bar. And at the center of this bar is smaller spiral. And at the center of that spiral is a supermassive black hole. This all happens in the big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy cataloged as NGC 1300, a galaxy that lies some 70 million light-years away toward the constellation of the river Eridanus. This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the gorgeous island universe is one of the most detailed Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy. NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. How the giant bar formed, how it remains, and how it affects star formation remains an active topic of research. Jigsaw Universe: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day","title":"NGC 1300: Barred Spiral Galaxy","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/NGC1300_HST_1080.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-16|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/aurora_iss052e007857_1024.jpg","id":3010,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/aurora_iss052e007857.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-16T00:00:00","published_at_display":"16 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green aurora slathers up the sky in this 2017 June 25 snapshot from the International Space Station. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view. The tantalizing glow is green at lower altitudes, but rarer reddish bands extend above the space station's horizon. The orbital scene was captured while passing over a point south and east of Australia, with stars above the horizon at the right belonging to the constellation Canis Major, Orion's big dog. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major, is the brightest star near the Earth's limb.","title":"Aurora Slathers Up the Sky","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/aurora_iss052e007857_1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Chester Hall-Fernandez","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-15|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/R3Orion_Hall_960.jpg","id":2978,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/R3Orion_Hall_2870.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Chester Hall-Fernandez","published_at":"2026-05-15T00:00:00","published_at_display":"15 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet. A key reason is because Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) was near its most spectacular -- in terms of tail visibility -- when passing in front of the iconic constellation. Although rare, other bright comets, too, have ventured across Orion, including Lovejoy in 2015, Hale-Bopp in 1997, and the Great Comet of 1264. Best visible in long duration exposures, the featured image was captured last week from the Craigieburn Mountain Range in New Zealand. Visible in the deep background image are the Orion Nebula, Barnard's Loop, and through R3's tail, the bright star Saiph, the sixth brightest star in the constellation of Orion. Comet R3 PanSTARRS continues to fade as it moves further south, passing into the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros) in the next few days. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)","title":"R3 PanSTARRS: An Orion Comet","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/R3Orion_Hall_960.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-14|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/messier_portrait_100px_160h.jpg","id":2953,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/messier_portrait_300px_160h.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-14T00:00:00","published_at_display":"14 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky? Armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the very popular objects in the Messier Catalog. Most of them, but not all, are also visible from the southern half of the Earth. The featured image shows all 110 objects in the catalog at uniform scale -- the same magnification. Charles Messier created the catalog in the 18th century. He was interested in comets, and his catalog was a list of known comet-like \"objects to avoid\" in the sky when observing or hunting for comets. The deep sky objects in the catalog include a supernova remnant (the Crab Nebula, M1), other galaxies (such as Andromeda, M31), nebulae (e.g. the Orion Nebula, M42, a star-forming region) and stellar clusters (such as the Pleiades, M45, a bright young open cluster).","title":"Messier Catalog at Uniform Scale","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/messier_portrait_100px_160h.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Neven Krcmarek","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-13|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Polarissima1024.jpg","id":2903,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Polarissima.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Neven Krcmarek","published_at":"2026-05-13T00:00:00","published_at_display":"13 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an effort by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers William, Caroline, and John Herschel along with others into a useful single, complete catalog of astronomical discoveries and measurements. Dreyer's work was largely successful and is still important today, as this famous catalog continues to lend its \"NGC\" to bright clusters, galaxies, and nebulae. Take for example the star cluster known as NGC 188 (item number 188 in the NGC compilation). It lies about 6,000 light-years distant in the northern constellation Cepheus and represents a galactic or open star cluster. With an age of about 7 billion years, NGC 188 is old for an open cluster. Its old, evolved red giant stars have yellowish hues in this colorful, deep sky view. NGC 188 also enjoys the designation Caldwell 1 in a modern compilation of deep sky objects. Located well above the plane of the Milky Way and seen in the direction of planet Earth's north celestial pole, the ancient stellar group is known to some as the Polarissima Cluster.","title":"NGC 188: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/Polarissima1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Julien De Winter, Sascha Ebeler Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-12|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometR3_Orion.jpg","id":2821,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometR3_Orion.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Julien De Winter, Sascha Ebeler Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","published_at":"2026-05-12T00:00:00","published_at_display":"12 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Today\u2019s composite image features something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue! Comet R3 PanSTARRS, streaking across the right of the image, likely originated from the Oort Cloud, meaning it is an old Solar System relic from billions of years ago. It\u2019s bright extended ion tail glows blue as the gas escaping the comet\u2019s core is ionized by sunlight. Astronomers are fascinated by comets for all sorts of reasons: comet compositions are untouched time capsules containing the building blocks of Solar System planets; comets may have delivered water to the young Earth; the behavior of cometary tails shed light on solar wind and radiation interactions. The background mosaic, featuring the Orion Nebula (M42), was taken over two nights of observation with the comet captured on the third night. The Orion Nebula is our nearest stellar nursery and, at about 2 million years old, is our something (relatively) new! Now at around 127.5 million kilometers from Earth, we wave goodbye to the borrowed Comet R3 PanSTARRS as it leaves the Solar System. Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026","title":"The Conjunction of Comet R3 PanSTARRS and the Orion Nebula","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometR3_Orion.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"El Cielo de Canarias","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-11|https://www.youtube.com/embed/afHfMMC-MJE?rel=0","id":2748,"image_url":"None","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"El Cielo de Canarias","published_at":"2026-05-11T00:00:00","published_at_display":"11 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens. What is moving is mostly the Earth, whose spin causes the Moon to slowly disappear behind Mount Teide, a volcano in the Canary Islands of Spain off the northwest coast of Africa. The people pictured are 16 kilometers away and many are facing the camera because they are watching the Sun rise behind the photographer. It is not a coincidence that a full moon sets just when the Sun rises because the Sun is always on the opposite side of the sky from a full moon. The featured video was made in 2018 during a full Milk Moon. The video is not time-lapse -- this was really how fast the Moon was setting.","title":"Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/afHfMMC-MJE?rel=0","video_url":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/afHfMMC-MJE?rel=0"},{"author":"Luc Perrot (TWAN)","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-10|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometOrion_Perrot_960_annotated.jpg","id":2706,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometOrion_Perrot_960.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Luc Perrot (TWAN)","published_at":"2026-05-10T00:00:00","published_at_display":"10 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Orion never had a sword like this. As Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) heads out of the inner Solar System, it is putting on quite a show for long exposure cameras. Currently seen toward the constellation of Orion the Hunter, the distant Orion Nebula is visible on the upper right. Comet R3 PanSTARRS is now showing two distinct tails: a short dust tail pointing toward the top of the image and a long and wavy ion tail trailing off toward the upper left. The ion tail points away from the Sun and glows blue from excited carbon monoxide. Large particles in the dust tail somewhat resist the radiation pressure that push them away from the Sun and so retain a bit of the comet's orbit. The dust tail shines by reflected sunlight. The featured image was taken a few days ago from France's Reunion Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Growing Gallery: Comet R3 PanSTARRS in 2026","title":"Comet R3 PanSTARRS and Orion","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometOrion_Perrot_960_annotated.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-09|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/MessierCrater3d_vantuyne1024c.jpg","id":2680,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/MessierCrater3d_vantuyne.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-09T00:00:00","published_at_display":"9 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Many bright nebulae and star clusters in planet Earth's sky are associated with the name of astronomer Charles Messier from his famous 18th century catalog. His name is also given to these two large and remarkable craters on the Moon. Standouts in the dark, smooth lunar Sea of Fertility or Mare Fecunditatis, Messier (left) and Messier A have dimensions of 15 by 8 and 16 by 11 kilometers respectively. Their elongated shapes are explained by the extremely shallow-angle trajectory followed by an impactor, moving left to right, that gouged out the craters. The shallow impact also resulted in two bright rays of material extending along the surface to the right, beyond the picture. Intended to be viewed with red/blue glasses (red for the left eye), this striking stereo picture of the crater pair was recently created from high resolution scans of two images (AS11-42-6304, AS11-42-6305) taken during the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.","title":"Messier Craters in Stereo","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/MessierCrater3d_vantuyne1024c.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Jakub Ku\u0159\u00e1k & Martin Ma\u0161ek (FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences)","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-08|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometRigel_Karuk_960.jpg","id":2612,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometRigel_Karuk_2851.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Jakub Ku\u0159\u00e1k & Martin Ma\u0161ek (FZU of the Czech Academy of Sciences)","published_at":"2026-05-08T00:00:00","published_at_display":"8 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Which way is Comet R3 PanSTARRS going? Not towards the star at the top of the image, because that is Rigel, which, being far in the background, is unrelated to the comet. Not through the nebula in the image middle, because that is the Witch Head Nebula and it, too, is far in the distance -- but not far from Rigel. Not into northern skies because over the past week Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) has moved into southern skies and is now best visible in Earth's Southern Hemisphere toward the west after sunset. Angularly, Comet R3 PanSTARRS is slowly moving toward the upper right, night by night, and will soon be in the constellation Orion. Spatially, the comet is now headed out of our Solar System but should remain visible to cameras in southern skies for about a week. The featured image was captured last week near Cerro Paranal in Chile. Growing Gallery: Comet R3 PanSTARRS in 2026","title":"Comet R3 PanSTARRS Before Rigel","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/CometRigel_Karuk_960.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"bundle_variants":[{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-07|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4","id":2571,"image_url":"None","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-07T00:00:00","published_at_display":"7 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"A long time ago, in a distant galaxy, a massive star was destroyed in a supernova explosion. The light of this event travelled for tens of millions of years and reached Earth last week as Supernova 2026kid. The featured video shows a time-lapse over three nights of the host galaxy NGC 5907, an edge-on spiral also known as the Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy, as the supernova appears and becomes brighter. (The occasional streaks are satellites in Earth orbit.) At its brightest, a supernova can outshine the sum of all other stars in its galaxy. Supernova 2026kid appears relatively dim, probably because we are seeing it through the edge-on disk of the galaxy. Such explosions typically happen about once per century in galaxies similar to the Milky Way, and their light can take months to fade away. The brightest supernova in recorded history was SN 1006; it is reported to have been brighter than Venus, and even visible in the sky during daytime.","title":"Supernova in a Sideways Spiral","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4","video_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4"},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-07|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/supernova.mp4","id":2487,"image_url":"None","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-07T00:00:00","published_at_display":"7 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"A long time ago, in a distant galaxy, a massive star was destroyed in a supernova explosion. The light of this event travelled for tens of millions of years and reached Earth last week as Supernova 2026kid. The featured video shows a time-lapse over three nights of the host galaxy NGC 5907, an edge-on spiral also known as the Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy, as the supernova appears and becomes brighter. (The occasional streaks are satellites in Earth orbit.) At its brightest, a supernova can outshine the sum of all other stars in its galaxy. Supernova 2026kid appears relatively dim, probably because we are seeing it through the edge-on disk of the galaxy. Such explosions typically happen about once per century in galaxies similar to the Milky Way, and their light can take months to fade away. The brightest supernova in recorded history was SN 1006; it is reported to have been brighter than Venus, and even visible in the sky during daytime.","title":"Supernova in a Sideways Spiral","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/supernova.mp4","video_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/supernova.mp4"}],"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-07|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4","id":2571,"image_url":"None","is_active":true,"item_type":"story_bundle","item_type_label":"Story bundle","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-07T00:00:00","published_at_display":"7 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","sequence_count":2,"sequence_count_label":"2 variants","sequence_kind":"story_bundle","sequence_sources":["apod"],"source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"A long time ago, in a distant galaxy, a massive star was destroyed in a supernova explosion. The light of this event travelled for tens of millions of years and reached Earth last week as Supernova 2026kid. The featured video shows a time-lapse over three nights of the host galaxy NGC 5907, an edge-on spiral also known as the Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy, as the supernova appears and becomes brighter. (The occasional streaks are satellites in Earth orbit.) At its brightest, a supernova can outshine the sum of all other stars in its galaxy. Supernova 2026kid appears relatively dim, probably because we are seeing it through the edge-on disk of the galaxy. Such explosions typically happen about once per century in galaxies similar to the Milky Way, and their light can take months to fade away. The brightest supernova in recorded history was SN 1006; it is reported to have been brighter than Venus, and even visible in the sky during daytime.","title":"Supernova in a Sideways Spiral","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4","video_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/sn_2025kid_low.mp4"},{"author":"Tun\u00e7 Tezel (TWAN) Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-06|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/saturn_neptune_retrograde_1024.jpg","id":2445,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/saturn_neptune_retrograde.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Tun\u00e7 Tezel (TWAN) Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)","published_at":"2026-05-06T00:00:00","published_at_display":"6 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"What does it mean for Saturn and Neptune to be in retrograde? Featured is a composite of images taken over 34 nights from May 2025 to February 2026 tracing Saturn (brighter, foreground) and Neptune (dimmer, background). Over that time, the two planets exhibited retrograde motion, meaning they appeared to move backward in the sky. This apparent backwards motion occurs when Earth overtakes the slower outer planets as they orbit the Sun. Imagine the Solar System is a running track. Earth \"runs\" faster along the inside of the track compared to the outer planets. As Earth approaches, aligns, and then \"laps\" the outer planets, they change position from ahead to behind from the Earth's perspective. This perspective shift is what causes the outer planets to change position in the night sky. An animation corresponding to today\u2019s image shows Saturn and Neptune\u2019s months-long dance across the northern night sky. Saturn stepped from the Pisces constellation into Aquarius and back again while Neptune remained in Pisces. This is the closest Saturn and Neptune have been in the sky since their last conjunction in 1989.","title":"The Retrograde Dance of Saturn and Neptune","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/saturn_neptune_retrograde_1024.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":"Marcin Rosadzi\u0144ski","downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-05|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/OrionTeide_Rosadzinski_960.jpg","id":2358,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/OrionTeide_Rosadzinski_4247.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":"Marcin Rosadzi\u0144ski","published_at":"2026-05-05T00:00:00","published_at_display":"5 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Orion is rarely seen like this. To achieve this majestic vista, you need a camera capable of taking such long duration exposures that faint features in the night sky become revealed. Iconic nebulas that appear include the Orion Nebula, the Flame Nebula, and Barnard's Loop. For contrast, it also helps to have a volcano on the foreground, in this case the Teide volcano on Tenerife on the Canary Islands of Spain. But if you want your Teide volcano snow-covered, you also need good timing -- because that only happens, typically, for a few days each year. Good timing also includes waiting for Orion to appear just behind Teide, which occurred late last year after sunset. The featured image is the result of a series of images taken consecutively with the same camera from the same location. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995)","title":"Orion over Mount Teide","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/OrionTeide_Rosadzinski_960.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-03|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/TrifidPillar_Hubble_960.jpg","id":2292,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/TrifidPillar_Hubble_4074.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-03T00:00:00","published_at_display":"3 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains. They survive because they are more dense than their surroundings, but they are slowly being eroded away by a hostile environment. Visible in the featured picture by the Hubble Space Telescope is the end of a huge gas and dust pillar in the Trifid Nebula (M20), punctuated by a smaller pillar pointing up and an unusual jet pointing to the upper left. Many of the bright dots are newly formed stars. A star near the small pillar's end is slowly being stripped of its accreting gas by radiation from a tremendously brighter star situated off the top of the image. The jet extends nearly a light-year and would not be visible without external illumination. As gas and dust evaporate from the pillars, the hidden stellar source of this jet will likely be uncovered, possibly over the next 20,000 years. Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator","title":"Trifid Pillars and Jets","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/TrifidPillar_Hubble_960.jpg","video_url":null},{"author":null,"downloadable_assets":[],"embed_url":null,"external_id":"2026-05-02|https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/PIA21923_fig1SeeingTitan1024.jpg","id":2265,"image_url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/PIA21923_fig1SeeingTitan2400.jpg","is_active":true,"item_type":"apod","item_type_label":"Apod","live_now":false,"live_status":null,"media_credit":null,"published_at":"2026-05-02T00:00:00","published_at_display":"2 May 2026, 00:00 GMT","source_name":"apod","source_type":"api","summary":"Shrouded in a thick atmosphere, the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is really hard to see. Small particles suspended in Titan's upper atmosphere cause an almost impenetrable haze, strongly scattering light at visible wavelengths and hiding surface features from prying eyes. Still, Titan's surface is better imaged at infrared wavelengths, where scattering is weaker and atmospheric absorption is reduced. Arrayed around this visible light image (center) of Titan are some of the clearest global infrared views of the tantalizing moon so far. In false color, the six panels present a consistent processing of 13 years of infrared image data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on board the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn from 2004 to 2017. They offer a stunning comparison with Cassini's visible light view. NASA's revolutionary rotorcraft mission to Titan's surface is due to launch no earlier than July, 2028.","title":"Seeing Titan","topic":"astronomy","url":"https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2605/PIA21923_fig1SeeingTitan1024.jpg","video_url":null}],"next_num":2,"page":1,"pages":3,"per_page":20,"prev_num":null,"total":42}