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.

2007 July 2
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

Zooming in to the Pelican Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Filipe Alves

Explanation: Where is the Pelican Nebula? APOD features many objects in the night sky, but usually does not have the resources to show where each one lies. Today, thanks to inventive digital manipulations of Filipe Alves, it is possible to show you exactly where the photogenic Pelican Nebula can be found. Clicking on the arrow will cause many browsers to download and play a spectacular movie that zooms from the perspective of an unaided human eye to that of a powerful telescope. The observatory dome visible on the right is part of Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain. The image zooms into the constellation of Cygnus, passes the greater Pelican Nebula (IC 5070), and settles on a dust structure in the Pelican head housing unborn stars. Alternatively, the movie is also available here.

Tomorrow's picture: going in


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