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. 2021 January 30 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Southern Sky from 38,000 Feet Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Ralf Rohner Explanation: Celestial sights of the southern sky shine above a [5]cloudy planet Earth in this gorgeous night sky view. The scene was captured from an airliner's flight deck at 38,000 feet on a steady westbound ride to Lima, Peru. To produce [6]the sharp airborne astrophotograph, the best of a series of short exposures were selected and digitally stacked. The broad band of the [7]southern Milky Way begins at top left with the dark [8]Coalsack Nebula and Southern Cross. Its expanse of diffuse starlight encompasses the the Carina Nebula and large Gum Nebula toward the right. Canopus, alpha star of Carina and second brightest star in Earth's night is easy to spot below the Milky Way, as is the dwarf galaxy known as the [9]Large Magellanic Cloud. The Small Magellanic cloud just peeks above the cloudy horizon. Of course, the South Celestial Pole also lies [10]within the starry southern frame. Tomorrow's picture: rocks from space __________________________________________________________________ [11]< | [12]Archive | [13]Submissions | [14]Index | [15]Search | [16]Calendar | [17]RSS | [18]Education | [19]About APOD | [20]Discuss | [21]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [22]Robert Nemiroff ([23]MTU) & [24]Jerry Bonnell ([25]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [26]Specific rights apply. [27]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [28]ASD at [29]NASA / [30]GSFC & [31]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2101/SouthernSkyRohner.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.instagram.com/skypointer2000/ 5. https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/cloudy-earth 6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/skypointer2000/50869832177/ 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170821.html 8. https://oneminuteastronomer.com/2036/coalsack-nebula/ 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxies_in_fiction#Large_Magellanic_Cloud 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210101.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210129.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 15. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 20. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210130 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210131.html 22. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 25. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 27. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 28. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 29. https://www.nasa.gov/ 30. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 31. http://www.mtu.edu/