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. 2024 January 4 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Zeta Oph: Runaway Star Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]Spitzer Space Telescope Explanation: Like a ship plowing through cosmic seas, [6]runaway star Zeta Ophiuchi produces the arcing interstellar bow wave or [7]bow shock seen in this stunning infrared portrait. In the false-color view, bluish Zeta Oph, a star about 20 times more massive than the Sun, lies near the center of the frame, moving toward the left at 24 kilometers per second. Its strong stellar wind precedes it, compressing and heating the dusty [8]interstellar material and shaping the curved shock front. What set this star in motion? Zeta Oph was likely once a member of a [9]binary star system, its companion star was more massive and hence shorter lived. When the companion [10]exploded as a supernova catastrophically losing mass, Zeta Oph was flung out of the system. About 460 light-years away, [11]Zeta Oph is 65,000 times more luminous than [12]the Sun and would be one of the brighter stars in the sky if it weren't surrounded by obscuring [13]dust. The image spans about 1.5 degrees or 12 light-years at the estimated distance of [14]Zeta Ophiuchi. In January 2020, NASA placed the [15]Spitzer Space Telescope in safe mode, ending its 16 [16]successful years of [17]exploring the cosmos. Tomorrow's picture: at the heart of Orion __________________________________________________________________ [18]< | [19]Archive | [20]Submissions | [21]Index | [22]Search | [23]Calendar | [24]RSS | [25]Education | [26]About APOD | [27]Discuss | [28]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [29]Robert Nemiroff ([30]MTU) & [31]Jerry Bonnell ([32]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [33]Specific rights apply. [34]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [35]ASD at [36]NASA / [37]GSFC, [38]NASA Science Activation & [39]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2401/ZetaOph_spitzer_4015.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 5. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061124.html 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rGz862VPRo 8. http://espg.sr.unh.edu/ism/what1.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_II_supernova 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_Ophiuchi 12. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html 14. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/zetaoph.html 15. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html 16. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/2195-ssc2019-15-Sixteen-Images-for-Spitzer-s-Sweet-16 17. https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasas-spitzer-tess-find-potentially-volcano-covered-earth-size-world/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240103.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 22. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 27. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240104 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240105.html 29. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 30. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 31. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 32. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 34. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 35. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 36. https://www.nasa.gov/ 37. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 38. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 39. http://www.mtu.edu/