Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

A Sky Full Of Hydrogen

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 18, 1996 is “A Sky Full Of Hydrogen,” an image. It is credited to A Sky Full Of Hydrogen Credit: J. Dickey (UMn), F. Lockman (NRAO), SkyView. The original explanation runs about 176 words.

A Sky Full Of Hydrogen
Credit: A Sky Full Of Hydrogen Credit: J. Dickey (UMn), F. Lockman (NRAO), SkyView Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Explanation : Interstellar space is filled with extremely tenuous clouds of gas which are mostly Hydrogen. The neutral hydrogen atom (HI in astronomer’s shorthand) consists of 1 proton and 1 electron.”

— APOD editors, December 18, 1996

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 18, 1996
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: A Sky Full Of Hydrogen Credit: J. Dickey (UMn), F. Lockman (NRAO), SkyView
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 176 words

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.