Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Messier 24: Sagittarius Star Cloud

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 11, 2026 is “Messier 24: Sagittarius Star Cloud,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub). The original explanation runs about 142 words.

Messier 24: Sagittarius Star Cloud
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Unlike most entries in Charles Messier’s famous catalog of deep sky objects, M24 is not a bright galaxy, star cluster, or nebula. It’s a gap in nearby, obscuring interstellar dust clouds that allows a view of the distant stars in the Sagittarius spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.”

— APOD editors, July 11, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
July 11, 2026
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub
Copyright
Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 142 words

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Topics in this entry

The Milky WayNebulaeGalaxiesStar clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: July 11 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.