                        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.

                               2022 January 18

                      From Orion to the Southern Cross
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Lucy Yunxi Hu

   Explanation: This is a sky filled with glowing icons. On the far left
   is the familiar constellation of Orion, divided by its iconic
   three-aligned belt stars and featuring the famous Orion Nebula, both
   partly encircled by Barnard's Loop. Just left of center in the featured
   image is the brightest star in the night: Sirius. Arching across the
   image center is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. On the far
   right, near the top, are the two brightest satellite galaxies of the
   Milky Way: the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), and the Small Magellanic
   Cloud (SMC). Also on the far right -- just above the cloudy horizon --
   is the constellation of Crux, complete with the four stars that make
   the iconic Southern Cross. The featured image is a composite of 18
   consecutive exposures taken by the same camera and from the same
   location in eastern Australia during the last days of last year. In the
   foreground, picturesque basalt columns of the Bombo Quarry part to
   reveal the vast Pacific Ocean.

                  Tomorrow's picture: big galaxy approaches
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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