                        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.

                                2026 April 16
     A dead tree branch on the foreground appears to support a spinning
    wheel of stars on the night sky. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                            South Celestial Tree
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Kiko Fairbairn
             Text: Cecilia Chirenti (NASA GSFC, UMCP, CRESST II)

   Explanation: If you live in the northern hemisphere, you may have
   learned how to locate the North Star, Polaris, in the night sky. It can
   be used to find north, and it approximately marks the northern
   celestial pole. If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no
   bright star marking the southern celestial pole, but the Southern Cross
   can be used to find south. The featured image was taken in Padre
   Bernardo (GO), Brazil. It shows the apparent motion of the stars around
   the apparently empty southern celestial pole over 2 hours, on August
   20, 2018. Each star takes about 24 hours to make a complete turn around
   the pole in the sky. Padre Bernardo is located in the Cerrado region, a
   tropical savanna that occupies most of central Brazil and supports rich
   biodiversity. The barren branch that apparently supports this sky wheel
   of rotating stars is a common sight there in the dry season during the
   southern winter.

                 Tomorrow's picture: starburst and superwind
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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.

