MSGID: 1:153/757.0 6c619ad8   
   TZUTC: -0800   
   CHRS: LATIN-1 2   
                           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.   
      
                                 2025 December 30   
        A star filled sky shows bands of green and purple sky glow. In the   
           foreground is a grassy field with clouds on the horizon. Most   
        remarkably, a series of short streaks appear like a comet's tail up   
      from the horizon toward the upper left. Please see the explanation for   
                            more detailed information.   
      
                                An Artificial Comet   
                        Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Chao   
      
      Explanation: Yes, but can your comet tail do this? No, and what you are   
      seeing is not the tail of a comet. The picture features a cleverly   
      overlayed time-lapse sequence of a group of satellites orbiting Earth   
      together in June. Specifically, these are Starlink communications   
      satellites in low Earth orbit reflecting back sunlight before sunrise   
      to Inner Mongolia, China. Although the satellites appear to the human   
      eye as points, the 20-second-long camera exposures caused them to   
      appear as short streaks. Currently there are over 9000 Starlinks in   
      orbit, with more being launched nearly every week. Other satellite   
      constellations are also being planned.   
      
                    Explore the Universe: Random APOD Generator   
                      Tomorrow's picture: celestial waterfall   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.   
                     NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;   
                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
   --- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-7   
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