From Orion to the Southern Cross

Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

January 18
The featured image shows a southern skyscape.
There is a constellation on the left of the Southern Cross.
On the right. The panorama was acquired from the Bombo Headland quarry in Australia.
You can see the explanation for more detailed information.

From the beginning to the end.
Lucy Hu's image is copyrighted.

The sky is filled with glowing icons. On the far left is the familiar constellation of Orion, divided by its three-aligned belt stars and featuring the famous Orion Nebula. The star in the night sky is the bright one: Sirius. The central band of the Milky Way is visible in the center of the image. The Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud are two of the best satellites of the Milky Way. There is a constellation of four stars that make up the Southern Cross on the far right. The image is a combination of 18 exposures taken by the same camera and location in eastern Australia during the last days of last year. In the background, the basalt columns of the Bombo Quarry show the Pacific Ocean.

Tomorrow's picture: a big galaxy.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.

Page 2

Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

January 19

M31 is about The AndromedaGalaxy.
The image was taken from the Hubble (NASA/ESA), Mayall (NSF) and the NAOJ.
R. Gendler and R. Croman own the rights to the processing and Copyright.

M31 is the most distant object that can be seen by the eye. Even at some two and a half million light-years distant, this immense spiral galaxy is visible, although as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. In contrast, a bright yellow nucleus, dark winding dust lanes, and expansive spiral arms dotted with blue star clusters and red nebulae are recorded in this stunning telescopic image which combines data from Hubble with ground-based images. It will be easier to see the Andromeda galaxy in 5 billion years, when it will span the entire night sky.

The picture is of open space.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.