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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Galaxies of the Virgo Cluster are scattered across this nearly 4 degree wide telescopic field of view. About 50 million light-years distant, the Virgo Cluster is the closest large galaxy cluster to our own local galaxy group. Prominent here are Virgo's bright elliptical galaxies from the Messier catalog, M87 at bottom left, and M86 and M84 near center right. M86 and M84 are recognized as part of Markarian's Chain, the visually striking line-up of galaxies on the that runs through the upper portion of this frame. Near the middle of the chain lies an intriguing interacting pair of galaxies, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435, known to some as Markarian's Eyes. Still, giant elliptical galaxy M87 dominates the Virgo cluster. It's the home of a super massive black hole, the first black hole ever imaged by planet Earth's Event Horizon Telescope.

Photo by Daniel Adibi

View from Kings Park to the city of Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What created the unusual halo around the Cat's Eye Nebula? No one is sure. What is sure is that the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae on the sky. Although haunting symmetries are seen in the bright central region, this image was taken to feature its intricately structured outer halo, which spans over three light-years across. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase in the life of a Sun-like star. Only recently however, have some planetaries been found to have expansive halos, likely formed from material shrugged off during earlier puzzling episodes in the star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portions of the Cat's Eye Nebula's halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years.

Photo by Taavi Niittee (Tõrva Astronomy Club)

The cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (France) in 2015 during the golden hour.

Antonin Subtil, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What happens when a star runs out of nuclear fuel? For stars like our Sun, the center condenses into a white dwarf while the outer atmosphere is expelled into space to appear as a planetary nebula. The expelled outer atmosphere of planetary nebula NGC 1514 appears to be a jumble of bubbles -- when seen in visible light. But the view from the James Webb Space Telescope in infrared, as featured here, confirms a different story: in this light the nebula shows a distinct hourglass shape, which is interpreted as a cylinder seen along a diagonal. If you look closely at the center of the nebula, you can also see a bright central star that is part of a binary system. More observations might better reveal how this nebula is evolving and how the central stars are working together to produce the interesting cylinder and bubbles observed. Jump Around the Universe: Random APOD Generator

The installation "Tusch" by Nevin Aladağ. Today is the UNESCO International World Art Day.

Nevin Aladağ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What's happening at the center of our galaxy? It's hard to tell with optical telescopes since visible light is blocked by intervening interstellar dust. In other bands of light, though, such as radio, the galactic center can be imaged and shows itself to be quite an interesting and active place. The featured picture shows an image of our Milky Way's center by the MeerKAT array of 64 radio dishes in South Africa. Spanning four times the angular size of the Moon (2 degrees), the image is impressively vast, deep, and detailed. Many known sources are shown in clear detail, including many with a prefix of Sgr, since the galactic center is in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. In our galaxy's center lies Sgr A, found here in the image center, which houses the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole. Other sources in the image are not as well understood, including the Arc, just to the left of Sgr A, and numerous filamentary threads. The inset image shows a small patch recently imaged in infrared light with the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate the effects of magnetic fields on star formation. Open Science: Browse 3,600+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library

4"x3" slide depicting John Wilkes Booth leaning forward to shoot President Abraham Lincoln as he watches Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.. The assassination occurred on this date 160 years ago.

unattributed; based on the depiction from a mechanical glass slide by T. M. McAllister of New York, c1865-75 Restored by Adam Cuerden     Description BritishImage restorationist, composer, amateur photographer and artist, and Wikipedian As Adam lives in Britain, which makes it incredibly easy to acquire copyright in his works, he grants, if needed, an irrevokable license to use this work however you see fit. He requests attribution where possible, and realises that "where possible" means that that request is not legally enforcable. Adam Cuerden (talk) 15:44, 16 January 2022 (UTC) Date of birth 8 June 1979 Location of birth United States InfoFieldSee file page for creator info., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What created this unusual hole in Mars? Actually, there are numerous holes pictured in this Swiss cheese-like landscape, with all-but-one of them showing a dusty, dark, Martian terrain beneath evaporating, light, carbon dioxide ice. The most unusual hole is on the upper right, spans about 100 meters, and seems to punch through to a lower level. Why this hole exists and why it is surrounded by a circular crater remains a topic of speculation, although a leading hypothesis is that it was created by a meteor impact. Holes such as this are of particular interest because they might be portals to lower levels that extend into expansive underground caves. If so, these naturally occurring tunnels are relatively protected from the harsh surface of Mars, making them relatively good candidates to contain Martian life. These pits are therefore also prime targets for possible future spacecraft, robots, and even human interplanetary explorers.

A girl in Maracaibo selling goods for Palm Sunday observance. Today is Palm Sunday.

Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

"Alcohol, whether consumed regularly or only on special occasions, takes a toll on your body. From your brain and heart, to your lungs and muscles, to your gastrointestinal and immune systems, alcohol has broad harmful effects on your health – including causing cancer" More at The Conversation ➜

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Most of us watch the Moon at night. But the Moon spends nearly as many daylight hours above our horizon, though in bright daytime skies the lunar disk looks pale and can be a little harder to see. Of course in daytime skies the Moon also appears to cycle through its phases, shining by reflected sunlight as it orbits our fair planet. For daytime moonwatchers, the Moon is probably easier to spot when the visible sunlit portion of the lunar disk is large and waxing following first quarter or waning approaching its third quarter phase. And though it might look unusual, a daytime moon is often seen even in urban skies. Captured here in a telephoto snapshot taken on March 12, a waxing daytime Moon is aligned near the edge of a popular observation deck that overlooks New York City's borough of Manahattan.

Photo by Jordi Coy