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 April 19
   [2]The image shows land on the left and a star filled sky on the right.
    Prominent in the sky is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy. On the left
    is a small circular lake that reflects some of the stars in the sky.
    Together, the land and lake look like an eye lookout out at the Milky
       Way. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                            Eye on the Milky Way
       Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Miguel Claro ([4]TWAN, [5]Dark Sky
                                  Alqueva)

   Explanation: Have you ever had [6]stars in your eyes? It appears that
   the eye on the left does, and moreover, it appears to be gazing at even
   more stars. The [7]featured 27-frame mosaic was taken in 2019 from
   [8]Ojas de Salar in the [9]Atacama Desert of [10]Chile. The eye is
   actually a small [11]lagoon captured reflecting the [12]dark night sky
   as the Milky Way Galaxy arched overhead. The seemingly smooth band of
   the [13]Milky Way is really composed of billions of stars, but
   decorated with filaments of light-absorbing dust and [14]red-glowing
   nebulas. Additionally, both [15]Jupiter (slightly left the galactic
   arch) and [16]Saturn (slightly to the right) are visible. The lights of
   small towns dot the [17]unusual vertical horizon. The [18]rocky terrain
   around the lagoon appears to some more like the surface of [19]Mars
   than our [20]Earth.

      Sky Surprise: [21]What picture did APOD feature on your birthday?
                                (after 1995)
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [33]Robert Nemiroff ([34]MTU) & [35]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([36]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [37]Specific rights apply.
            [38]NASA Web Privacy, [39]Accessibility, [40]Notices;
                A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC,
                         [44]NASA Science Activation
                           & [45]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2604/EyeOnMW_Claro_1380.jpg
   3. https://www.miguelclaro.com/wp/biography/
   4. http://www.twanight.org/claro
   5. http://www.darkskyalqueva.com/
   6. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/stars-in-one-s-eyes--have
   7. https://www.miguelclaro.com/wp/portfolio/from-ojos-del-salar-a-martian-eye-looks-deep-into-our-milky-way-galaxy/
   8. https://youtu.be/KQv2h1jEN2s?t=66
   9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7nxSCVG9Y
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230928.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200408.html
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html
  15. https://science.nasa.gov/jupiter/
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/
  17. https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/funny-cats-dogs-stuck-furniture-31.jpg
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161005.html
  19. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/
  20. https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2026/
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260418.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  28. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  31. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260419
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260420.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  35. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  36. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  38. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  45. http://www.mtu.edu/