Astronomy Picture of the Day · April 22, 1997

Historic Optical Flash Fades

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 22, 1997 is “Historic Optical Flash Fades,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Historic Optical Flash Fades Credit and Copyright: P. J. Groot (U. Amsterdam) et al., WHT, INT). The original explanation runs about 201 words.

From the explanation

“Explanation : The largest telescopes in the world have scrambled to point toward this faint, fading object. Why?”

— APOD editors, April 22, 1997

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: April 22, 1997
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: Historic Optical Flash Fades Credit and Copyright: P. J. Groot (U. Amsterdam) et al., WHT, INT
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 201 words

All of April 1997 → · 1997 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

On this day: April 22 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Electronics Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB Read astronomy and space-history books anywhere. View on Amazon → Electronics Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones Noise-cancelling headphones for documentaries and launch livestreams. View on Amazon →

Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 22, 1997 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1997-april-22-historic-optical-flash-fades

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.