                        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 September 25

                           Saturn Opposite the Sun
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Jin Wang

   Explanation: This year Saturn was at opposition on September 21,
   opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. At its closest to Earth, Saturn
   was also at its brightest of the year, rising as the Sun set and
   shining above the horizon all night long among the fainter stars of the
   constellation Pisces. In this snapshot from the Qinghai Lenghu
   Observatory, Tibetan Plateau, southwestern China, the outer planet is
   immersed in a faint, diffuse oval of light known as the gegenschein or
   counter glow. The diffuse gegenschein is produced by sunlight
   backscattered by interplanetary dust along the Solar System's ecliptic
   plane, opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky. Like a giant eye, on
   this dark night Saturn and gegenschein seem to stare down on the
   observatory's telescope domes seen against a colorful background of
   airglow along the horizon.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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