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.

2013 April 1
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download
 the highest resolution version available.

Moon or Frying Pan?
Images Credit: Frying Pan (Copyrighted): Christopher Jonassen; Moon: NASA

Explanation: Which is which? Of the two images shown above, one is a moon in our Solar System, while the other is the bottom of frying pan. We are not making this up -- can you tell a pan from a planetoid? Think you got it? To find the answer click here. OK, but there are more! That's right: you, your family, friends, neighbors, and local elected officials can all play "Moon or Frying Pan" with these other image pairs, too. As everyone knows, the fundamental underlying reason why moons and frying pans appear similar is -- OK, we at APOD aren't sure either. And if you've been fooled, don't fret -- just remember that it's OK because today is April Fool's Day.

The Whole Quiz: Moon or Frying Pan?
Tomorrow's picture: horse sky


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