                        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.

                               2024 January 31
   A snowy landscape is pictured with a big hill in the center. Above the
     hill is a starfield with the stars and nebulae of the constellation
   Orion appearing, with the red glow of the nebulas in great contrast to
      the dark sky and bright snow. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                             Camera Orion Rising
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Marcin Ślipko

   Explanation: What does Orion rising look like to a camera? During this
   time of the year, the famous constellation is visible to the southeast
   just after sunset. From most Earthly locations, Orion's familiar star
   pattern, highlighted by the three-stars-in-a-row belt stars, rises
   sideways. An entire section of the night sky that includes Orion was
   photographed rising above Śnieżka, a mountain on the border between
   Poland and the Czech Republic. The long duration exposure sequence
   brings up many faint features including the Orion and Flame Nebulas,
   both encompassed by the curving Barnard's Loop. The featured wide-angle
   camera composite also captured night sky icons including the blue
   Pleiades star cluster at the image top and the red Rosette Nebula to
   the left of Orion. Famous stars in the frame include Sirius,
   Betelgeuse, Rigel and Aldebaran. Orion will appear successively higher
   in the sky at sunset during the coming months.

                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn; Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

