Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

A Close Encounter Of The Stellar Kind

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 7, 2001 is “A Close Encounter Of The Stellar Kind,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Digitized Sky Survey , SkyView. The original explanation runs about 192 words.

A Close Encounter Of The Stellar Kind
Credit: Digitized Sky Survey , SkyView Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The unassuming star centered in this sky view will one day be our next door stellar neighbor. The faint 9th magnitude red dwarf , currently 63 light-years away in the constellation Ophiucus , was recently discovered to be approaching our Solar System.”

— APOD editors, July 7, 2001

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
July 7, 2001
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Digitized Sky Survey , SkyView
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 192 words

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On this day: July 7 in other years

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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.