Astronomy Picture of the Day · December 2024

APOD, December 2024

30 entries from December 2024: 29 images and 1 videos. 18 carry a copyright notice from the credited creator.

There is no obvious picture. There is just a background with a single color. This color, a type of off-white or beige, is called cosmic latte. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 1, 2024

Cosmic Latte: The Average Color of the Universe

Image Color Credit: Karl Glazebrook & Ivan Baldry ( JHU )A classic spiral galaxy is shown with blue spiral arms. The center is yellow-red. Many star clusters are easily visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 2, 2024 · Copyrighted

NGC 300: A Galaxy of Stars

Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel SternIce clouds are seen over the surface of Mars on the upper right. Toward the lower left is a bright spot in the sky which is likely the Sun rising through Martian dust. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 3, 2024

Ice Clouds over a Red Planet

Image Credit: NASA , JPL-Caltech , Kevin M. Gill ; Processing: Rogelio Bernal AndreoDriveway Analemma December 4, 2024 · Video · Copyrighted

Driveway Analemma

Video Credit & Copyright: Nick WrightStereo Jupiter near Opposition December 5, 2024 · Copyrighted

Stereo Jupiter near Opposition

Image Credit & Copyright: Marco LorenziXuyi Station and the Fireball December 6, 2024 · Copyrighted

Xuyi Station and the Fireball

Image Credit & Copyright: Hao Liu (Stanford University)A picture of Saturn is shown with tan clouds and light rings. Surrounding the north pole at the top are bright blue swirls. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 8, 2024

Aurora around Saturn's North Pole

Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble , OPAL Program , J. DePasquale ( STScI ), L. Lamy ( Obs. Paris )A star field shows many bright blue stars as well as bright blue reflecting gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 9, 2024 · Copyrighted

Pleiades: The Seven Sisters Star Cluster

Image Credit & Copyright: Francesco PelizzoA black and white drawing shows many meteors crossing the sky above a small town with many people outside watching. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 10, 2024

The Great Meteor Storm of 1833

Image Credit: Engraving: Adolf Vollmy ; Original Art: Karl JauslinA galaxy is seen in the center of the image. Faint shells are seen around it. A red-colored jet is seen emanating from the galaxy toward the lower right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 11, 2024

The Shells and Jets of Galaxy Centaurus A

Image Credit: Rolf OlsenPhaethon's Brood December 12, 2024 · Copyrighted

Phaethon's Brood

Image Credit & Copyright: Mikiya Sato ( Nippon Meteor Society )M51: Tidal Streams and H-alpha Cliffs December 13, 2024 · Copyrighted

M51: Tidal Streams and H-alpha Cliffs

Image Credit & Copyright: The Deep Sky Collective – Tim Schaeffer, Carl Björk, Steeve Body, Fabian Neyer, Aki Jain, Ryan Wierckx, Paul Kent, Brian Valente, Antoine & Dalia Grelin, Nicolas Puig, Stephen Guberski, Mike Hamende, Julian Shapiro, John Dziuba, Mikhail Vasilev, Bogdan Borz, Adrien KeijzerApollo 17's Moonship December 14, 2024

Apollo 17's Moonship

Image Credit: Apollo 17 , NASA , (Image Reprocessing: Andy Saunders )A snowy landscape is pictured below a starry sky. The very bright Moon appears on the upper right. Many streaks are visile that are meteors taken over the night. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 15, 2024 · Copyrighted

Geminid Meteors over a Snowy Forest

Image Credit & Copyright: Jakub KuřákA black and white image shows, from the side, the wall of a high jagged cliff. At the bottom of the cliff is a smooth landing dotted with rocks. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 16, 2024

A Kilometer High Cliff on Comet Churyumov – Gerasimenko

Image Credit & Licence (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO): ESA , Rosetta spacecraft , NAVCAM; Additional Processing: Stuart AtkinsonA wide star field is shown with several nebulae as identified by the rollover image. On the upper left is a large nebula named the Heart Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 17, 2024 · Copyrighted

Near to the Heart Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Horne & Drew EvansA dark starfield has an unusual galaxy in the center. This galaxy has a spindle-like shape showing two dust lanes -- one running vertically and one running diagonally from the upper left. Please see the explanation for more detailed informa December 18, 2024 · Copyrighted

NGC 660: Polar Ring Galaxy

Image Credit & Copyright: Mike SelbyMessier 2 December 19, 2024

Messier 2

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA , G. Piotto et al.The Long Night Moon December 20, 2024 · Copyrighted

The Long Night Moon

Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer and Dario Giannobile (Pictores caeli)A Year in Sunsets December 21, 2024 · Copyrighted

A Year in Sunsets

Image Credit & Copyright: Wael OmarAn artist's illustration shows where our Sun resides relative to local interstellar gas. The direction of motion of the Sun and local gas is shown with arrows. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 22, 2024

The Local Fluff

Illustration Credit: NASA , SVS , Adler , U. Chicago , WesleyanA star filled night sky is shown with aurora visible in blue, purple and green. The aurora could be perceived to be a spruce tree, or even a Christmas tree. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 23, 2024 · Copyrighted

Christmas Tree Aurora

Image Credit & Copyright: Jingyi ZhangA starfield filled with colorful gas and dark dust features a cone-shaped nebula near the image top and nebular structure reminiscent of the fur of a fox near the middle. A wide area of light emission resembles the shape of a Christmas tree December 24, 2024 · Copyrighted

Fox Fur, Cone, and Christmas Tree

Image Credit & Copyright: Tim WhiteA snow covered road goes up a hill to a sky filled with stars. Arcs and halos in the sky ahead appear similar to a giant eye. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 25, 2024 · Copyrighted

Diamond Dust Sky Eye

Image Credit & Copyright: Jaroslav FousGrand Spiral NGC 5643 December 26, 2024

Grand Spiral NGC 5643

Image Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASAPlanet Earth at Twilight December 27, 2024

Planet Earth at Twilight

Image Credit: ISS Expedition 2 Crew , Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth , NASAA December Winter Night December 28, 2024 · Copyrighted

A December Winter Night

Image Credit & Copyright: Włodzimierz BubakA frozen lake is shown that appears quite blue. Many oval light-colored bubbles are frozen into the ice, many times in columns. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 29, 2024 · Copyrighted

Methane Bubbles Frozen in Lake Baikal

Image Credit & Copyright: Kristina MakeevaA starfield is shown with a frame dominated by a gaseous nebula. The nebula, filled with structure, appears orange in the center but blue around the edges. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 30, 2024 · Copyrighted

M27: The Dumbbell Nebula

Image Credit & Copyright: Christopher StobieA dark field shows an oblong orange glow with some dark and complex dust lanes running through. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. December 31, 2024

The Twisted Disk of NGC 4753

Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble ; Processing: Alexander Reinartz

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