Astronomy Pictures Of The Day
Many astronomy websites offer what are called "astronomy pictures of the day". Sites with astronomy pictures of the day will show, like the name insinuates, a picture that is changed daily and can range from a nebula, a star, a constellation, or any other celestial body. Normally, astronomy pictures of the day will coincide with an object in space that is visible at the time that the picture is displayed. For instance, when Venus is highly visible and relatively close to Earth, the website might display a picture of Venus in all of her beauty. If the Horsehead Nebula happens to very bright in the southern hemisphere, the website might show a picture of said nebula that can only be taken from a very high-powered telescope.
These pictures of the day are useful for various reasons. Often, these pictures are in a very high detail and are taken from a telescope with a high level of magnification. A normal stargazer wouldn't necessarily be able to see this object with as much clarity or closeness because he or she is likely to be unable to afford the equipment necessary for such a high-resolution photograph. Some pictures of the day are taken from different locations on the Earth. This is because certain constellations, stars, or comets are only visible to people on certain hemispheres at any given time. A website that offers a breathtaking view of Sirius from Australia, for instance, is a wonderful gift to those of us in the northern or western hemisphere that is unable to see the star at all.
NASA's website offers spectacular pictures of the day that are generally unrivaled among other sites. This makes perfect sense, considering that NASA has not only the best equipment on the planet for stargazing but also has the budget necessary to make these beautiful pictures a reality. This website can be reached by visiting apod.nasa.gov. The "apod" actually stands for astronomy picture of the day. Anybody interested in beautiful astronomy pictures should do themselves a favor and refer to this website. It is unrivaled when it comes to stunning images of the cosmos. The website for the popular Astronomy Magazine also has a picture of the day section that has some similarly breathtaking beauty. You can reach this website by visiting astronomy.com. Anybody who is interested in astronomy would be doing themselves an immense favor by looking at the pictures of the day on either NASA's or Astronomy Magazine's websites. Many of the images are unrivaled by anything of this earth.
