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"NASA caused quite a stir when news of the space agency changing the 12 zodiac signs, adding a 13th sign called Ophiuchus, surfaced online. However, NASA has denied such claims and said that with or without the change in zodiac signs, astrology is still fake. The ruckus was caused when Cosmopolitan posted an article, saying that NASA has decided to change the astrological signs for the first time in 2,000 years. The article says that the change was caused by the stars and Earth's axis being different today than it was in the past."

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. 2016 September 30 Lynds Dark Nebula 1251 Image Credit & Copyright: Lynn Hilborn Explanation: Stars are forming in Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN) 1251. About 1,000 light-years away, the dusty molecular cloud is part of a complex of dark nebulae mapped toward the Cepheus flare region, drifting above the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Across the spectrum, astronomical explorations of the obscuring interstellar clouds reveal energetic shocks and...

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. 2016 September 29 Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope Image Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN) Explanation: The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is nestled within a natural basin in China's remote and mountainous southwestern Guizhou province. Nicknamed Tianyan, or the Eye of Heaven, the new radio telescope is seen in this photograph taken near the start of its testing phase of operations on September 25. Designed with...

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. 2016 September 28 NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: S. Mazlin, J. Harvey, R. Gilbert, & D. Verschatse (SSRO/PROMPT/UNC) Explanation: What's happening in the Statue of Liberty nebula? Bright stars and interesting molecules are forming and being liberated. The complex nebula resides in the star forming region called RCW 57. This image showcases dense knots of dark interstellar dust, bright stars that have...

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. 2016 September 27 Jupiter's Europa from Spacecraft Galileo Image Credit: Galileo Project, JPL, NASA Explanation: What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of Jupiter, the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but cracked beyond repair. Nevertheless, speculation is rampant that oceans exist under Europa's fractured ice-plains that could support life. This...

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. 2016 September 26 See FULL Youtube Video HereGaia: Here Comes the Sun Image Credit: Galaxy Illustration: Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org), Star Data: Gaia Mission, ESA, Antoni Sagristà Sellés (U. Heidelberg) et al. Explanation: What would it look like to return home from outside our galaxy? Although designed to answer greater questions, recent data from ESA's robotic Gaia mission is helping to provide a uniquely modern perspective on humanity's place...

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. 2016 September 25 Saturn from Above Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute Explanation: This image of Saturn could not have been taken from Earth. No Earth based picture could possibly view the night side of Saturn and the corresponding shadow cast across Saturn's rings. Since Earth is much closer to the Sun than Saturn, only the day side of the ringed planet is visible from the Earth....

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. 2016 September 24 Heart and Soul and Double Cluster Image Credit & Copyright: Adrien Klamerius Explanation: This rich starfield spans almost 10 degrees across the sky toward the northern constellations Cassiopeia and Perseus. On the left, heart-shaped cosmic cloud IC 1805 and IC 1848 are popularly known as the Heart and Soul nebulae. Easy to spot on the right are star clusters NGC 869 and NGC 884 also...

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. 2016 September 22 Harvest Moon Eclipse Image Credit & Copyright: Miguel Claro (TWAN, Dark Sky Alqueva) Explanation: A Harvest Moon rises over Sesimbra Castle south of Lisbon in this impressive series of telephoto exposures. Captured at its full phase, the golden Moon was also gliding through the Earth's more diffuse outer shadow during September's penumbral lunar eclipse. The eclipse shading is subtle compared to a total lunar eclipse....

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. 2016 September 22 Sunset at Edmontonhenge Image Credit & Copyright: Luca Vanzella Explanation: On September 18, the setting Sun illuminated both sides of the steep brick and steel canyon otherwise known as Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, planet Earth. The Stonehenge-like alignment is captured from the middle of the road in this daring snapshot. In Edmonton streets are laid out on a grid almost oriented along...

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. 2016 September 21 Video HereZooming in on Star Cluster Terzan 5 Image Credit: Nick Risinger (skysurvey.org), DSS, Hubble, NASA, ESA, ESO; Music: Johan B. Monell Explanation: Globular clusters once ruled the Milky Way. Back in the old days, back when our Galaxy first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our Galaxy. Today, there are less than 200 left. Over the eons, many globular clusters were destroyed by...

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. 2016 September 20 The Helix Nebula in Infrared Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Spitzer Space Telescope; Processing: Judy Schmidt Explanation: What makes this cosmic eye look so red? Dust. The featured image from the robotic Spitzer Space Telescope shows infrared light from the well-studied Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) a mere 700 light-years away in the constellation of the Water Carrier Aquarius. The two light-year diameter shroud of dust and...

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. 2016 September 19 50,000 Kilometers over the Sun Image Credit & Copyright: Pete Lawrence Explanation: What's happening at the edge of the Sun? Although it may look like a monster is rampaging, what is pictured is actually only a monster prominence -- a sheath of thin gas held above the surface by the Sun's magnetic field. The solar event was captured just this past weekend with a small...

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. 2016 September 17 M33: Triangulum Galaxy Image Credit & Copyright: Giovanni Benintende Explanation: The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the...

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. 2016 September 16 Full Moon over Brno Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek Explanation: After sunset this gorgeous full moon rose over Brno city in the Czech Republic on July 20, 2016. The panoramic image was made during a celebration of the 47th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. A series of exposures captures the yellow hued lunar disk against the fading colors of twilight, with the...

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. 2016 September 15 Retrograde Mars and Saturn Image Credit & Copyright: Tunç Tezel (TWAN) Explanation: Wandering Mars and Saturn have spent much of this year remarkably close in planet Earth's night sky. In a sequence of exposures spanning mid-December 2015 through the beginning of this week, this composited skyview follows their time together, including both near opposition, just north of bright star Antares near the Milky Way's central...

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. 2016 September 14 The North and South Jupiter Image Credit: NASA, JPL, Juno Mission Explanation: A wide, looping orbit brought Juno close to Jupiter on August 27. As the spacecraft swung around the giant planet's poles JunoCam acquired these premier direct polar views, a change from the usual nearly equatorial perspective of outbound spacecraft and the telescopes of planet Earth. The sunlit side of Jupiter's north polar region...

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. 2016 September 13 NGC 1672: Barred Spiral Galaxy from Hubble Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA; Processing & Copyright: Steve Cooper Explanation: Many spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a modest central bar. Prominently barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, featured here, was captured in spectacular detail in an image taken by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope....

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. 2016 September 12 Philae Lander Found on Comet 67P Image Credit & Copyright: ESA, Rosetta, MPS, OSIRIS; UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA/Navcam Explanation: A little spacecraft that was presumed lost has now been found. In 2014, the Philae lander slowly descended from its parent Rosette spacecraft to the nucleus of Comet C67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko. At the surface, after a harpoon malfunction, the lander bounced softly twice and eventually sent back images from an...

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. 2016 September 11 All the Water on Planet Earth Illustration Credit & Copyright: Jack Cook, Adam Nieman, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Howard Perlman, USGS Explanation: How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius. The featured illustration shows what would happen if all of the...