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 January 27 [2]A person stands in the distance on a snowy landscape shining a flashlight on the ground. Trees and snow capped mountains are on the horizon. In the starry sky above, several iconic red nebulas are visible. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Orion's Treasures over Snowy Mountains Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Włodzimierz Bubak; Text: [4]Ogetay Kayali ([5]MTU) Explanation: Rising over a frozen valley in the [6]Tatra Mountains, the familiar stars and nebulas of [7]Orion dominate this wide-field nightscape. The [8]featured deep photo was [9]taken in southern [10]Poland's highest mountain range last month, where [11]dark skies and alpine terrain combined to reveal both Earth's [12]rugged beauty and the structure of [13]our galaxy. Above the snowy mountains, [14]Orion's bright belt stars anchor a region of glowing interstellar clouds. The Great [15]Orion Nebula, a vast [16]stellar nursery visible even to the unaided eye, shines near the center of the scene. Surrounding it is the enormous arc of [17]Barnard's Loop, a faint shell of [18]ionized hydrogen gas spanning much of the [19]constellation. To the left, the round [20]Rosette Nebula glows softly, while the grayish [21]Witch Head Nebula hovers to the right, illuminated by nearby starlight. Near the top, the orange supergiant [22]Betelgeuse marks the hunter's shoulder. Tomorrow's picture: reflecting Orion __________________________________________________________________ [23]< | [24]Archive | [25]Submissions | [26]Index | [27]Search | [28]Calendar | [29]RSS | [30]Education | [31]About APOD | [32]Discuss | [33]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell ([37]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply. [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices; A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC, [45]NASA Science Activation & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/OrionTatras_Bubak_2048.jpg 3. https://www.instagram.com/trzeci_plan/ 4. https://www.ogetay.com/ 5. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/ 6. https://youtu.be/Dg-8W57X7lY 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240131.html 8. https://www.instagram.com/p/DSK39XzDHJ1/ 9. https://www.instagram.com/p/DS-TeeIDHcV/ 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200408.html 12. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https://preview.redd.it/yall-told-me-shed-have-a-big-tail-one-day-and-shes-delivered-v0-9c7qdzwulqsf1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=34b8d47083ac6c8751b7476aee96e6f4ac84fdb2 13. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/ 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240116.html 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula 16. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/ 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050420.html 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionization 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation) 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170214.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220124.html 22. https://www.aavso.org/vsots_alphaori 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260126.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 29. https://apod.com/feed.rss 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260127 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260128.html 34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 46. http://www.mtu.edu/