Astronomy Picture of the Day - November 17th, 2021 - NGC 3314: When Galaxies Overlap (Narrated by Salli) Why doesn't the nearby galaxy create a gravitational lensing effect on the background galaxy? It does, but since both galaxies are so nearby, the angular shift is much smaller than the angular sizes of the galaxies themselves. The featured Hubble image of NGC 3314 shows two large spiral galaxies which happen to line up exactly. The foreground spiral NGC 3314a appears nearly face-on with its pinwheel shape defined by young bright star clusters. Against the glow of the background galaxy NGC 3314b, though, dark swirling lanes of interstellar dust can also be seen tracing the nearer spiral's structure. Both galaxies appear on the edge of the Hydra Cluster of Galaxies, a cluster that is about 200 million light years away. Gravitational lens distortions are much easier to see when the lensing galaxy is smaller and further away. Then, the background galaxy may even be distorted into a ring around the nearer. Fast gravitational lens flashes due to stars in the foreground galaxy momentarily magnifying the light from stars in the background galaxy might one day be visible in future observing campaigns with high-resolution telescopes. Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211117.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahfZFXwoMI

Astronomy Picture of the Day - December 19th, 2023 - NGC 1499: The California Nebula (Narrated by Amy) Could Queen Calafia's mythical island exist in space? Perhaps not, but by chance the outline of this molecular space cloud echoes the outline of the state of California, USA. Our Sun has its home within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,000 light-years from the California Nebula. Also known as NGC 1499, the classic emission nebula is around 100 light-years long. On the featured image, the most prominent glow of the California Nebula is the red light characteristic of hydrogen atoms recombining with long lost electrons, stripped away (ionized) by energetic starlight. The star most likely providing the energetic starlight that ionizes much of the nebular gas is the bright, hot, bluish Xi Persei just to the right of the nebula. A regular target for astrophotographers, the California Nebula can be spotted with a wide-field telescope under a dark sky toward the constellation of Perseus, not far from the Pleiades. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator Image Credit & Copyright: Steven Powell Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231219.html This video was auto generated using data from NASA Open API. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtjcuoXG-k4

Wikipedia Picture of the Day - December 21st, 2021 - "The Raven" (Narrated by Salli) "The Raven" is a narrative poem by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. This illustration by Édouard Manet was drawn for a French publication, and depicts the narrator half asleep, poring over ancient books at midnight on a drear winter night. He hears a tapping sound, and on investigation finds a raven at the window, which flies into his room and perches on a bust of Pallas Athena. The narrator asks the bird a series of questions, to which the bird replies only "Nevermore". Eventually, the narrator falls into despair and ends with his final admission that his soul is trapped beneath the raven's shadow and shall be lifted "nevermore". Originally published in 1845, the poem was widely popular and made Poe famous, though it did not bring him much financial success. "The Raven" has influenced many modern works and is referenced throughout popular culture in films, television and music. Illustration credit: Édouard Manet; restored by Lise Broer Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2021-12-21 This video was auto generated using data and media from Wikipedia. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3brY4UfU8Y

Wikipedia Picture of the Day - May 18th, 2021 - Gertrude Käsebier (Narrated by Salli) Gertrude Käsebier (May 18, 1852 – October 12, 1934) was an American photographer who was known for her images of motherhood and her portraits of Native Americans; her portraits of the Sioux focused more on the expression and individuality of the person than their costumes and customs. She helped establish the Women's Professional Photographers Association of America and promoted photography as a career for women. This photograph was taken in around 1900, when she was at the height of her career. Photograph credit: Adolph de Meyer ; restored by Adam Cuerden Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:POTD/2021-05-18 This video was auto generated using data and media from Wikipedia. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Q5n8CTiCU