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 27 [2]A very colorful sky field is shown featuring many stars and nebulas that appear red, yellow, blue, and brown. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Zeta and Rho Ophiuchi with Milky Way Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Ireneusz Nowak Explanation: Behold one of the most photogenic regions of the night sky, captured impressively. [4]Featured, the band of our [5]Milky Way Galaxy runs diagonally along the bottom-left corner, while the colorful [6]Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is visible just right of center and the large red circular [7]Zeta Ophiuchi Nebula appears near the top. In general, red emanates from [8]nebulas glowing in the light of [9]excited hydrogen gas, while blue marks interstellar dust preferentially [10]reflecting the light of bright young stars. [11]Thick dust usually appears [12]dark brown. Many iconic objects of the night sky [13]appear, including (can you find them?) the bright star [14]Antares, the [15]globular star cluster [16]M4, and the [17]Blue Horsehead nebula. [18]This wide field composite, taken over 17 hours, was captured from [19]South Africa last June. Explore Your Universe: [20]Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: powerful space jet __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell ([35]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [36]Specific rights apply. [37]NASA Web Privacy, [38]Accessibility, [39]Notices; A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC, [43]NASA Science Activation & [44]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2505/RhoZeta_Nowak_2560.jpg 3. https://www.astrobin.com/users/iro/ 4. https://www.astrobin.com/i40hmc/ 5. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rho_Ophiuchi_cloud_complex 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240104.html 8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_nebula 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-alpha 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_nebula 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230129.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220117.html 13. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://i.redd.it/k2g4aurhieh71.jpg 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220126.html 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241129.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230926.html 18. https://www.astrobin.com/i40hmc/ 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250526.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 27. https://apod.com/feed.rss 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=250527 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250528.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 38. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 44. http://www.mtu.edu/