Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2024 August 4

         IFRAME: [2]https://www.youtube.com/embed/XORui0wFKnE?rel=0

                          Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
        Credit: Galaxy Illustration: N. Risinger ([3]skysurvey.org);
   Star Data: [4]Gaia Mission, [5]ESA, [6]A. S. Sellés ([7]U. Heidelberg)
                                   et al.

   Explanation: What would it look like to return home from outside our
   galaxy? Although designed to answer [8]greater questions, data from
   ESA's robotic [9]Gaia mission is helping to provide a uniquely
   [10]modern perspective on humanity's place in the universe. Gaia
   [11]orbits the [12]Sun near the [13]Earth and resolves [14]stars'
   positions so precisely that it can determine a [15]slight shift from
   its changing vantage point over the course of a year, a shift that is
   proportionately smaller for more [16]distant stars -- and so
   [17]determines distance. In the first sequence of [18]the video, an
   illustration of the [19]Milky Way is shown that soon [20]resolves into
   a three-dimensional [21]visualization of Gaia star data. A few notable
   stars are labelled with their [22]common names, while others stars are
   labelled with numbers from a [23]Gaia catalog. Eventually, the
   [24]viewer arrives in our stellar neighborhood where many stars were
   tracked by Gaia, and soon at our home star Sol, [25]the Sun. At the
   video's end, the reflective glow of Sol's third planet becomes visible:
   [26]Earth.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
     __________________________________________________________________

      [27]< | [28]Archive | [29]Submissions | [30]Index | [31]Search |
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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [38]Robert Nemiroff ([39]MTU) & [40]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([41]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [42]Specific rights apply.
            [43]NASA Web Privacy, [44]Accessibility, [45]Notices;
                A service of: [46]ASD at [47]NASA / [48]GSFC,
                         [49]NASA Science Activation
                           & [50]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://www.youtube.com/embed/XORui0wFKnE?rel=0
   3. http://skysurvey.org/
   4. http://sci.esa.int/gaia/28820-summary/
   5. http://www.esa.int/
   6. https://tonisagrista.com/
   7. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/welcome
   8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGri4YNggoc
   9. http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Gaia_overview
  10. http://www.nature.com/news/milky-way-mapper-6-ways-the-gaia-spacecraft-will-change-astronomy-1.20569
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lissajous_orbit
  12. https://science.nasa.gov/sun
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220206.html
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT0Xh1BizSI
  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z_O66Z4l6Y
  16. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/cosmic/solar_neighborhood.html
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_distance_ladder
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XORui0wFKnE
  19. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/milky-way-our-location/
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111018.html
  21. https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/gaia/outreach/gaiasky/
  22. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/starname.html
  23. http://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dr1
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190818.html
  25. https://youtu.be/KQetemT1sWc
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100713.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240803.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  33. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  36. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240804
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240805.html
  38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  39. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  40. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  41. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  46. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  49. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  50. http://www.mtu.edu/