Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2020 November 16

                         Light and Glory over Crete
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Tomás Slovinský

   Explanation: The month was July, the place was the Greek island of
   Crete, and the sky was spectacular. Of course there were the usual
   stars like Polaris, Vega, and Antares -- and that common asterism
   everyone knows: the Big Dipper. But this sky was just getting started.
   The band of the Milky Way Galaxy stunned as it arched across the night
   like a bridge made of stars and dust but dotted with red nebula like
   candy. The planets Saturn and Jupiter were so bright you wanted to stop
   people on the beach and point them out. The air glowed like a rainbow
   -- but what really grabbed the glory was a comet. Just above the
   northern horizon, Comet NEOWISE spread its tails like nothing you had
   ever seen before or might ever see again. Staring in amazement, there
   was only one thing to do: take a picture.

                   Coverage: NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 Mission
                 Tomorrow's picture: unexplained sky ribbon
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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