Astronomy Picture of the Day · February 5, 1999

HR 4796A: Not Saturn

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 5, 1999 is “HR 4796A: Not Saturn,” an image. It is credited to Credit: G. Schneider (Steward Observatory, U. Arizona), B.Smith (U. Hawaii), NICMOS/IDT. The original explanation runs about 207 words.

From the explanation

“These are not false-color renderings of the latest observations of Saturn’s magnificent rings . Instead, the panels show a strikingly similar system on a much larger scale – a ring around the young, Vega-like star, HR 4796A , located about 200 light-years from Earth.”

— APOD editors, February 5, 1999

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: February 5, 1999
Type: Image
Credit: Credit: G. Schneider (Steward Observatory, U. Arizona), B.Smith (U. Hawaii), NICMOS/IDT
Copyright: No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 207 words

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Topics in this entry

Saturn

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: February 5 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, February 5, 1999 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-1999-february-05-hr-4796a-not-saturn

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.