Magazine Posts

Triumph of St. Ignatius of Loyola by Andrea Pozzo, celebrates the work of Ignatius of Loyola and the Society of Jesus in the world by depicting the saint welcomed into paradise by Christ and surrounded by allegorical representations of the four continents. The trompe-l'œil fresco adorns the flat ceiling of the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius. Today is Ignatius of Loyola's feast day.

Livioandronico2013, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons. Many loops into the Sun's lower corona are large enough to envelop the Earth and are stable enough to last days. They commonly occur near active regions that also include dark sunspots. The featured panel shows four loops, each of which was captured near the Sun's edge during 2024 and 2025. The images were taken by a personal telescope in Mantova, Italy and in a very specific color of light emitted primarily by hydrogen. Some solar prominences suddenly break open and eject particles into the Solar System, setting up a space weather sequence that can affect the skies and wires of Earth. Jigsaw Universe: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

Photo by Andrea Vanoni

Vertical panorama of the Milky Way during Perseids photographed from Oeschinen Lake with water reflections.

Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Is the Helix Nebula looking at you? No, not in any biological sense, but it does look quite like an eye. The Helix Nebula is so named because it also appears that you are looking down the axis of a helix. In actuality, it is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry, including radial filaments and extended outer loops. The Helix Nebula (aka NGC 7293) is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula, a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce. The featured picture, taken in red, green, and blue but highlighted by light emitted primarily by hydrogen was created from 12 hours of exposure through a personal telescope located in Greece. A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots the origin of which are still being researched. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by George Chatzifrantzis

Portas da Cidade, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal.

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Photo through a microscope of crystals growing from melted sulfur. Polarized light technology. Magnification x10.

AlexmarPhoto, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? You're not alone. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops and bottoms. The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon result. Lightning usually takes a jagged course, rapidly heating a thin column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the Sun. The resulting shock wave starts supersonically and decays into the loud sound known as thunder. On average, around the world, about 6,000 lightning bolts occur between clouds and the Earth every minute. Pictured in July 2019 in a two-image composite, lightning stems from communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water) in Guatemala. Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Wakeboarder, Boardstock Festival in Zug, Switzerland, 2008.

Roy Egloff , CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.