Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Solar Sail

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 21, 2004 is “Solar Sail,” an image. It is credited to Illustration Credit: NASA / MSFC. The original explanation runs about 182 words.

Solar Sail
Credit: Illustration Credit: NASA / MSFC Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Could solar sailing become a future Olympic sport ? Nearly 400 years ago astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blown by a solar breeze and suggested that vessels might likewise navigate through space using appropriately fashioned sails .”

— APOD editors, August 21, 2004

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
August 21, 2004
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Illustration Credit: NASA / MSFC
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 182 words

All of August 2004 → · 2004 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Comets

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: August 21 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.