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.

                                2022 April 18
   [2]The featured image shows a very dark sky over the Mertola steppe in
    Portugal. Visible night sky objects include the Andromeda galaxy, the
    bright star Vega, planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, and the plane of
     our Milky Way Galaxy. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                       Stars and Planets over Portugal
    Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Miguel Claro ([4]TWAN, Dark Sky Alqueva)

   Explanation: The mission was to document night-flying birds -- but it
   ended up also documenting a beautiful sky. The [5]featured wide-angle
   mosaic was taken over the [6]steppe golden fields in [7]Mértola,
   [8]Portugal in 2020. From such a dark location, an immediately-evident
   [9]breathtaking glow arched over the night sky: the central band of our
   [10]Milky Way [11]galaxy. But this sky had much more. Thin clouds
   crossed the sky like golden ribbons. The [12]planet Mars appeared on
   the far left, while the planets [13]Saturn and [14]Jupiter were also
   simultaneously visible -- but on the opposite side of the sky, here
   seen on the far right. Near the top of the image the bright [15]star
   Vega can be found, while the far-distant and faint [16]Andromeda Galaxy
   can be seen toward the left, just below Milky Way's [17]arch. As the
   current month progresses, several [18]planets are lining up in the
   pre-dawn sky: [19]Jupiter, [20]Venus, Mars, and [21]Saturn.

      Did you know? Many APODs have links for [22]adventure & [23]humor
                      Tomorrow's picture: giant chicken
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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply.
              [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2204/MwMertola_Claro_2000.jpg
   3. https://www.miguelclaro.com/wp/biography/
   4. https://www.twanight.org/
   5. https://www.miguelclaro.com/wp/portfolio/galactic-arm-and-greenish-air-glow-above-steppe-golden-fields-of-mertola-all-sky-and-vr-360o-scene/
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppe
   7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok_qDnM7SiU
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal
   9. https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c3/f5/06/c3f50601ff95bf39d0fdeff1db42aae1.jpg
  10. http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html
  11. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/galaxy/en/
  12. https://mars.nasa.gov/
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200419.html
  14. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/jupiter/in-depth/
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220119.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210113.html
  18. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170523.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220329.html
  21. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn/overview/
  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok_qDnM7SiU
  23. https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c3/f5/06/c3f50601ff95bf39d0fdeff1db42aae1.jpg
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220417.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220418
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220419.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/