Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

A Galaxy-Shaped Rocket Exhaust Spiral

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for March 12, 2024 is “A Galaxy-Shaped Rocket Exhaust Spiral,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Credit & Copyright: Seung Hye Yang). The original explanation runs about 160 words.

A field of snow is shown, lined with trees along the back. Above the horizon is an unusual white spiral cloud. Stars dot the background, and faint green and red aurora are also visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed informati
Credit & Copyright: Seung Hye Yang Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“What’s that over the horizon? What may look like a strangely nearby galaxy is actually a normal rocket’s exhaust plume — but unusually backlit.”

— APOD editors, March 12, 2024

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
March 12, 2024
Type
Image
Credit
Credit & Copyright: Seung Hye Yang
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 160 words

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Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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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.