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.

August 19, 1996
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
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Welcome to Planet Earth
Credit: Apollo 17 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Welcome to Planet Earth, the third planet from a star named the Sun. The Earth is shaped like a sphere and composed mostly of rock. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water. The planet has a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Earth has a single large Moon which is about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet's surface, is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun. With its abundance of liquid water, Earth supports a large variety of life forms, including potentially intelligent species such as dolphins and humans. Please enjoy your stay on Planet Earth.

Tomorrow's picture: A Close-Up of the Lagoon Nebula


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See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
 the highest resolution version available. See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
 the highest resolution version available. Top 5 logo See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download 
 the highest resolution version available.

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA).
NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC