Astronomy Picture of the Day · July 31, 2026

NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 31, 2026 is “NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad,” an image. The picture is copyrighted by its creator (Alessandro Cipolat Bares). The original explanation runs about 148 words.

A telescopic image of a dark nebula. — Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Cipolat Bares Copyrighted Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“The Dark Doodad Nebula drifts through southern skies, a tantalizing target for binoculars toward the small constellation Musca, The Fly. A dusty interstellar cloud, it’s seen against rich starfields just south of the Coalsack Nebula and the Southern Cross.”

— APOD editors, July 31, 2026

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date: July 31, 2026
Type: Image
Credit: Credit & Copyright: Alessandro Cipolat Bares
Copyright: Copyrighted by the credited creator. Ask the copyright holder before reusing it.
Explanation length: About 148 words

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Topics in this entry

Nebulae

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: July 31 in other years

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Source

Astronomy Picture of the Day, July 31, 2026 — science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod/apod-2026-july-31-ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad

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.