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 July 1
    [2]A handful of different types of clouds splatter across the image,
      with bright stars embedded within. Dust blocks some parts of the
    clouds. Many small stars cover the background, with a cluster of them
             sitting in the bottom right beneath all the clouds.

                   The Cotton Candy Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Ángel Molina
   Text: [4]Keighley Rockcliffe ([5]NASA [6]GSFC, [7]UMBC CSST, [8]CRESST
                                     II)

   Explanation: Although they look like cotton candy, you cannot eat these
   clouds! Taken in [9]Cádiz, Spain, [10]today's image features [11]the
   Rho Ophiuchi complex, a rich tapestry of young and old astronomical
   phenomena. This colorful cloud complex is a nearby star-forming region
   containing hundreds of [12]young stellar objects, including
   [13]protostars and [14]T Tauri stars. Light from [15]the triple star
   system at its center [16]reflects off of small dust grains to create
   the blue [17]reflection nebula. [18]Ultraviolet light from hot stars
   [19]ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas, creating the red [20]emission
   nebula. [21]Antares, [22]a red supergiant big enough to engulf the
   Solar System’s [23]asteroid belt, lights up the yellow region. Dark
   [24]interstellar dust blocks some of the complex’s color. Recent
   [25]JWST observations exhibit shadows cast by hidden [26]circumstellar
   disks, the beginning stages of planet formation. [27]Messier 4, a
   globular cluster almost as old as the universe, sits in the bottom
   right and witnesses yet another chaotic burst of youth in the Milky
   Way.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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    Authors & editors: [39]Robert Nemiroff ([40]MTU) & [41]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([42]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [43]Specific rights apply.
            [44]NASA Web Privacy, [45]Accessibility, [46]Notices;
                A service of: [47]ASD at [48]NASA / [49]GSFC,
                         [50]NASA Science Activation
                           & [51]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2607/rho_ophiuchi_1024.png
   3. https://diarioastronomo.com/
   4. https://kerockcliffe.com/
   5. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
   6. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
   7. https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
   8. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
   9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH4w3Ev2uKg
  10. https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ0HKvRDNbW/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251025.html
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_stellar_object
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250313.html
  14. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/T/T+Tauri+Stars
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem_(novel)
  16. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/03_behaviors/
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stories/quick-reads/decoding-nebulae/
  18. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/10_ultravioletwaves/
  19. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/i/Ionisation
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251021.html
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250611.html
  22. https://theplanets.org/red-supergiant-star-facts/
  23. https://science.nasa.gov/asset/webb/asteroid-belts-illustration/
  24. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/dust-in-the-stellar-wind-a-cosmological-primer/
  25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3X8rZtVJOQ
  26. https://esawebb.org/wordbank/circumstellar-disc/
  27. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-4/
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260630.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  32. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  34. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  37. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260701
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260702.html
  39. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  40. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  41. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  42. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  43. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  47. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/
  49. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  50. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  51. http://www.mtu.edu/