Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Bacteriophages: The Most Common Life-Like Form on Earth

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 21, 2008 is “Bacteriophages: The Most Common Life-Like Form on Earth,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Wikipedia ; Insert: Mike Jones. The original explanation runs about 164 words.

Bacteriophages: The Most Common Life-Like Form on Earth
Credit: Wikipedia ; Insert: Mike Jones Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“There are more bacteriophages on Earth than any other life-like form. These small viruses are not clearly a form of life , since when not attached to bacteria they are completely dormant.”

— APOD editors, April 21, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 21, 2008
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Wikipedia ; Insert: Mike Jones
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 164 words

All of April 2008 → · 2008 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

On this day: April 21 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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.