                        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 September 11
      A starry sky is shown with the busy central band of our Milky Way
     Galaxy showing diagonally from the upper left. Mountains are on the
   horizon, with trees and a stream running up from the foreground. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    A Night Sky over the Tatra Mountains
      Image Credit: Marcin Rosadziński; Text: Natalia Lewandowska (SUNY
                                   Oswego)

   Explanation: A natural border between Slovakia and Poland is the Tatra
   Mountains. A prominent destination for astrophotographers, the Tatras
   are the highest mountain range in the Carpathians. In the featured
   image taken in May, one can see the center of our Milky Way galaxy with
   two of its famous stellar nurseries, the Lagoon and Omega Nebula, just
   over the top of the Tatras. Stellar nurseries are full of ionized
   hydrogen, a fundamental component for the formation of Earth-abundant
   water. As a fundamental ingredient in all known forms of life, water is
   a crucial element in the Universe. Such water can be seen in the
   foreground in the form of the Bialka River.

                   Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

