Astronomy Photo of the Day

Glittering stars, blazing suns and silver moons—space is full of captivating celestial objects. Astronomy is the natural science that studies these and many more, combining mathematics, physics and chemistry to explain their origins and evolution. The field has 17 subdisciplines, with astronomy itself focused on the study of celestial objects and phenomena. Objects of interest include planets, their moons, stars and their constituent gases, nebulae, galaxies and other space objects, as well as meteoroids, comets and asteroid.

Astronomy has a long history, with the first charts of star positions dating back to the 17th century. But the invention of the telescope greatly simplified charting and expanded what was studied, from the Solar System and its planets to the stars and other heavenly bodies that form our Milky Way Galaxy and beyond. Astronomy is split into two broad categories: observational and theoretical. Observational astronomy gathers information, while theoretical astronomy models and analyzes how space systems may have evolved.

Today’s astronomy photo of the day features a snapshot of our fascinating universe taken by NASA and showcasing a celestial event known as an occultation. Occultation happens when an object like a moon hides behind another object, as it did here when the Moon was hiding behind Jupiter earlier this month.

The stunning image, which was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows a stellar scene that is over 650 million light-years away from Earth. The cosmic vista is called JO175, also known as a jellyfish galaxy because of the tendrils of star-forming gas and dust that resemble those of an ocean creature.

JO175, located in the constellation Telescopium, is an example of gravitational lensing, where massive wells of gravity, such as huge clusters of galaxies or individual stars, bend and distort light around them. This creates the illusion of a lens and allows astronomers to see parts of galaxies or even other stars that wouldn’t be visible without it.

The image is part of the APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) archive that has been curated by scientists and engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California, with help from the public. The free website displays a different image or photograph of the cosmos every day and offers a short explanation of each shot written by a professional astronomer. It’s a great resource for anyone who loves learning more about our mysterious and magnificent universe. You can find out more about APOD and even download a widget that showcases the image of the day every time you unlock or open your smartphone.