Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) launched on June 16, 1995
On June 16, 1995 NASA and Michigan Technological University launched the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) website.
It is still running, despite periodic government shutdowns, with thousands of photos and brief descriptions freely available to all of us. The first photo posted was a computer generated image of earth as an ultra-high density neutron star.
First image posted June 16, 1995
If the Earth could somehow be transformed to the ultra-high density of a neutron star , it might appear as it does in the above computer generated figure. Due to the very strong gravitational field, the neutron star distorts light from the background sky greatly. If you look closely, two images of the constellation Orion are visible. The gravity of this particular neutron star is so great that no part of the neutron star is blocked from view – light is pulled around by gravity even from the back of the neutron star.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap950616.html
Neutron Star (Artist’s Impression)
Issued in 2021 by Japan
Part of their Astronomical Worlds, Series 4
Designer: Maruyama Satoshi 丸山 智
After three decades, Astronomy Picture of the Day offers incredibly detailed photos that were barely dreamed of in the 1990s. Today’s photo was a Triple Shockwave from Sun Crossing Rocket Image Credit & Copyright: John Winkopp (WAI Media).
From the Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) website. What’s happening to this Sun-crossing rocket? The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, visible on the upper left, launched only about one minute before this amazing image was captured. As it rose to low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, in late May, the rocket became supersonic before it crossed the disk of the distant Sun — from the perspective of the well-placed photographer. The spacecraft’s high speed caused bow-shaped compressed-air shockwaves to form across leading surfaces, with at least three visible even outside the Sun’s disk because they refract sunlight. The trailing exhaust caused turbulence visible on the lower right. None of this was damaging to the robotic Starlink 10-53 mission, which delivered 29 communications satellites to low Earth orbit as planned. And if that isn’t amazing enough – the Sun had spots!
The above image hasn’t made it to a stamp (yet) but USPS released spectacular stamps using NASA images. Below is a set showing off the sun’s activities, ranging from plasma blasts to sunspots. Advancements in technology now brings us high quality photographs that allow us to see the universe in amazing detail.
Sun Science
Issued by US in 2021
Designer: Antonio Alcalá
NASA
The Astronomy Picture of the Day site contains all the images uploaded since the first day. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/
Previous SODs for June 16: