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Astronomy Picture of the Day - South Celestial Tree
NASA ^ | 16 Apr, 2026 | Image Credit & Copyright: Kiko Fairbairn Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

Posted on 04/16/2026 12:08:01 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: If you live in the northern hemisphere, you may have learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris, in the night sky. It can be used to find north, and it approximately marks the northern celestial pole. If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no bright star marking the southern celestial pole, but the Southern Cross can be used to find south. The featured image was taken in Padre Bernardo (GO), Brazil. It shows the apparent motion of the stars around the apparently empty southern celestial pole over 2 hours, on August 20, 2018. Each star takes about 24 hours to make a complete turn around the pole in the sky. Padre Bernardo is located in the Cerrado region, a tropical savanna that occupies most of central Brazil and supports rich biodiversity. The barren branch that apparently supports this sky wheel of rotating stars is a common sight there in the dry season during the southern winter.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 04/16/2026 12:08:01 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 04/16/2026 12:08:34 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; A_perfect_lady; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; ...
Pinging the APOD list

πŸͺ 🌟 🌌 πŸ”

3 posted on 04/16/2026 12:09:24 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

4 posted on 04/16/2026 12:23:38 PM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: MtnClimber

Bummer peyote trip.


5 posted on 04/16/2026 12:40:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: MtnClimber

And then you go back in time.


6 posted on 04/16/2026 2:05:25 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer” )
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To: blueunicorn6
And then you go back in time.


7 posted on 04/16/2026 2:12:09 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber; All

My favorite time travel SciFi show nothing comes close IMO!


8 posted on 04/16/2026 2:21:56 PM PDT by Reily
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To: MtnClimber

Been to Rio a couple times
Never Saw This.


9 posted on 04/16/2026 2:38:00 PM PDT by Big Red Badger (Resist Satan's Tyranny )
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