                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

                                2023 July 18
   A mountaintop is shown covered by brush. Across the horizon are several
      telescopes. Behind the mountaintop is a deep exposure of the sky
   showing the central band of our Milky Way galaxy and several well-known
       stars and nebulas. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                    Milky Way above La Palma Observatory
                Image Credit & Copyright: Marcin Rosadziński

   Explanation: What's happening in the night sky? To help find out,
   telescopes all over the globe will be pointing into deep space.
   Investigations will include trying to understand the early universe,
   finding and tracking Earth-menacing asteroids, searching for planets
   that might contain extra-terrestrial life, and monitoring stars to help
   better understand our Sun. The featured composite includes foreground
   and background images taken in April from a mountaintop on La Palma
   island in the Canary Islands of Spain. Pictured, several telescopes
   from the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory are shown in front of a
   dark night sky. Telescopes in the foreground include, left to right,
   Magic 1, Galileo, Magic 2, Gran Canarian, and LST. Sky highlights in
   the background include the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, the
   constellations of Sagittarius, Ophiuchus and Scorpius, the red-glowing
   Eagle and Lagoon Nebulas, and the stars Alrami and Antares. Due to
   observatories like this, humanity has understood more about our night
   sky in the past 100 years than ever before in all of human history.

                    Tomorrow's picture: beyond the birds
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
                NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

