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.

                                2026 March 28
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           Robert Goddard and Nell
     Image Credit: Esther Goddard, from the [3]Clark University archive

   Explanation: [4]Robert H. Goddard, considered the father of modern
   rocketry, was born in Worcester Massachusetts in 1882. As a 16 year
   old, Goddard read H.G. Wells' science fiction classic [5]"War Of The
   Worlds" and dreamed of space flight. [6]By 1926 he had designed, built,
   and flown the world's first liquid fuel rocket. [7]Launched 100 years
   ago, on March 16, 1926 from his aunt Effie's [8]farm in Auburn
   Massachusetts, the rocket dubbed "Nell", rose to an altitude of 41 feet
   in a flight that lasted about 2 1/2 seconds. [9]In this posed photo
   Goddard stands next to the 10 foot tall rocket, holding the launch
   stand frame. To achieve a stable flight without the need for fins, the
   rocket's heavy motor was located at the top, fed by lines from liquid
   oxygen and gasoline fuel tanks at the bottom. Widely recognized as a
   [10]gifted experimenter and [11]engineering genius, his [12]rockets
   were many years ahead of their time. Goddard was awarded over 200
   patents in rocket technology, most of them after his death in 1945. A
   liquid fuel rocket constructed on principles [13]developed by Goddard
   landed [14]humans on the Moon in 1969.

                  Tomorrow's picture: a message from Earth
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    Authors & editors: [26]Robert Nemiroff ([27]MTU) & [28]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([29]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [30]Specific rights apply.
            [31]NASA Web Privacy, [32]Accessibility, [33]Notices;
                A service of: [34]ASD at [35]NASA / [36]GSFC,
                         [37]NASA Science Activation
                           & [38]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2603/goddardphotop9-1_wb.jpg
   3. https://www.clarku.edu/library/archives-and-special-collections/
   4. https://www.nasa.gov/dr-robert-h-goddard-american-rocketry-pioneer/
   5. http://www.literature.org/Works/H-G-Wells/war-of-the-worlds/
   6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAYVnUgS2zc
   7. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/celebrating-100-years-since-goddards-breakthrough-moment-in-modern-rocketry/
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/from-cabbages-to-craters-nasa-marks-one-century-of-modern-rocketry/
   9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/albums/72157623138264584/
  10. https://iiif.library.cmu.edu/file/Posner_629.13338_G57M_1919/Posner_629.13338_G57M_1919.pdf
  11. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1924MWRv...52..105G/abstract
  12. http://www.howstuffworks.com/rocket.htm
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051019.html
  14. https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/esdmd/nasa-strengthens-artemis-adds-mission-refines-overall-architecture/
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260327.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  19. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  21. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  24. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260328
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260329.html
  26. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  29. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  33. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  34. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/
  36. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  37. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  38. http://www.mtu.edu/