                        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.

                                 2025 May 27
     A very colorful sky field is shown featuring many stars and nebulas
    that appear red, yellow, blue, and brown. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                    Zeta and Rho Ophiuchi with Milky Way
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Ireneusz Nowak

   Explanation: Behold one of the most photogenic regions of the night
   sky, captured impressively. Featured, the band of our Milky Way Galaxy
   runs diagonally along the bottom-left corner, while the colorful Rho
   Ophiuchi cloud complex is visible just right of center and the large
   red circular Zeta Ophiuchi Nebula appears near the top. In general, red
   emanates from nebulas glowing in the light of excited hydrogen gas,
   while blue marks interstellar dust preferentially reflecting the light
   of bright young stars. Thick dust usually appears dark brown. Many
   iconic objects of the night sky appear, including (can you find them?)
   the bright star Antares, the globular star cluster M4, and the Blue
   Horsehead nebula. This wide field composite, taken over 17 hours, was
   captured from South Africa last June.

                Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator
                   Tomorrow's picture: powerful space jet
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

