Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                 2025 May 23
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           NGC 6366 vs 47 Ophiuchi
              Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Massimo Di Fusco

   Explanation: Most [5]globular star clusters roam the halo of our Milky
   Way galaxy, but globular cluster NGC 6366 lies close to the [6]galactic
   plane. About 12,000 light-years away toward the constellation
   Ophiuchus, the cluster's starlight is dimmed and reddened by the Milky
   Way's interstellar dust when viewed from planet Earth. As a result, the
   [7]stars of NGC 6366 look almost golden in [8]this telescopic scene,
   especially when seen next to relatively bright, bluish, and nearby star
   47 Ophiuchi. Compared to the hundred thousand stars or so
   gravitationally bound in distant NGC 6366, 47 Oph itself is a binary
   star system a mere 100 light-years away. Still, the [9]co-orbiting
   stars of 47 Oph are too close together to be individually distinguished
   in the image.

                  Tomorrow's picture: Deimos before sunrise
     __________________________________________________________________

      [10]< | [11]Archive | [12]Submissions | [13]Index | [14]Search |
   [15]Calendar | [16]RSS | [17]Education | [18]About APOD | [19]Discuss |
                                    [20]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [21]Robert Nemiroff ([22]MTU) & [23]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([24]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [25]Specific rights apply.
              [26]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [27]ASD at [28]NASA / [29]GSFC,
                         [30]NASA Science Activation
                           & [31]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2505/NGC6366_3500.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://app.astrobin.com/u/massimo.difusco#gallery
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/star-clusters-inside-the-universes-stellar-collections/#hds-sidebar-nav-1
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250512.html
   7. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015A&A...584A..59S/abstract
   8. https://app.astrobin.com/i/j2ukh3
   9. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AJ....149..110W/abstract
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250522.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  14. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  19. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250523
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250524.html
  21. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  23. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  24. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  26. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  27. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/
  29. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  30. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  31. http://www.mtu.edu/