[{"url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/M82_V3_1024.jpg","date":"2026-04-17","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/M82_V3.jpg","title":"M82: Starburst Galaxy with a Superwind","copyright":"Arnaud Malleval","media_type":"image","explanation":"Messier 82 is a starburst galaxy with a superwind. In fact, through supernova explosions and powerful winds from massive stars, the burst of star formation in M82 is driving a prodigious outflow. Evidence for the superwind from the galaxy's central regions is clear in the sharp telescopic portrait. The composite image includes 33 hours of narrowband data, highlighting emission from long outflow filaments of atomic hydrogen gas in reddish hues. Some of the gas in the superwind, enriched in heavy elements forged in the massive stars, will eventually escape into intergalactic space. Triggered by a close encounter with nearby large galaxy M81, the furious burst of star formation in M82 should last about 100 million years or so. Also known as the Cigar Galaxy for its elongated visual appearance, M82 is about 30,000 light-years across. It lies 12 million light-years away near the northern boundary of Ursa Major.","service_version":"v1"},{"url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/Southern_Celestial_Pole_800.jpg","date":"2026-04-16","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/Southern_Celestial_Pole.jpg","title":"South Celestial Tree","copyright":"Kiko Fairbairn","media_type":"image","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.","service_version":"v1"},{"url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/iss_moon_transit_zoom.jpeg","date":"2026-04-15","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/iss_moon_transit.jpeg","title":"The ISS Transits the Moon","copyright":"Sébastien Borie\n\nText:\nKeighley Rockcliffe  \n(NASA\nGSFC, \nUMBC CSST, \nCRESST II)","media_type":"image","explanation":"Nope, that is not an alien spaceship landing on the Moon! This is an image of the International Space Station (ISS) as it begins to transit in front of the Moon. The ISS is in low-Earth orbit (LEO) where it wizzes around the Earth every 90 minutes. Orbiting the Earth 16 times per day\t for 25 years, the ISS has photobombed many familiar celestial objects including Venus, Mars, Saturn, and the Sun. Thousands of experiments led by researchers from over one hundred countries have been conducted on the ISS. Growing protein crystals in low gravity was one of the first experiments onboard the ISS and continues to contribute to new medical treatments. ISS astronauts study plant growth, water recycling, human health, and more to support the Artemis missions which will take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. Next time you are out and about at night, try to  spot the ISS zooming across the sky!","service_version":"v1"},{"url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/CometR3_Hamdi_960.jpg","date":"2026-04-14","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image\/2604\/CometR3_Hamdi_2710.jpg","title":"The Long Wispy Tail of Comet R3 (PanSTARRS)","copyright":"Haythem Hamdi","media_type":"image","explanation":"Why does Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) have a wispy tail?  The newest bright member of the inner Solar System, Comet C\/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is already extending an impressive stream of glowing gas. This tail starts from an unseen central nucleus of dirty ice that is likely a few kilometers across. The nucleus is warmed by the Sun and emits a cloud of neutral gas into a coma that glows light green. Nuclear gas ionized by energetic sunlight is pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind into an ion tail that glows light blue.  The wispy nature of the ion tail is caused by the constantly changing structure of the solar wind.  Pictured from Rhode Island, USA two days ago, Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) shows off a many-degree ion tail.  Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) is best seen before dawn from northern skies for another 10 days, after which it will be best visible from southern skies.    Growing Gallery: Comet R3 in 2026","service_version":"v1"}]