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 September 27
    [2]A spiral galaxy is pictured that takes up much of the frame. Many
    straight lines run through it. In the alternative image, the straight
    lines have been removed. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                         Andromeda before Photoshop
                        Image Credit: [3]Kees Scherer

   Explanation: What does the Andromeda galaxy really look like? The
   [4]featured image shows how our [5]Milky Way Galaxy's closest major
   galactic neighbor really appears in a long exposure through [6]Earth's
   busy skies and with a digital camera that introduces normal
   imperfections. The picture is a stack of 223 images, each a 300 second
   exposure, taken from a garden observatory in [7]Por[8]t[9]ugal during
   2019. Obvious image deficiencies include bright parallel [10]airplane
   trails, long and continuous [11]satellite trails, short [12]cosmic ray
   streaks, and [13]bad pixels. These imperfections were actually not
   removed with [14]Photoshop specifically, but rather [15]greatly reduced
   with a series of computer software packages that included Astro Pixel
   Processor, DeepSkyStacker, and PixInsight. All of this work was done
   not to [16]deceive you with a [17]digital fantasy that has little to do
   with the real likeness of the [18]Andromeda galaxy (M31), but to
   minimize Earthly artifacts that have nothing to do with the distant
   galaxy and so better recreate [19]what M31 really does look like.

    APOD's email for image submissions has changed. Please see: [20]APOD
                                 Submissions
       APOD's main NASA site is [21]moving: From [22]apod.nasa.gov to
                          [23]science.nasa.gov/apod
                       Tomorrow's picture: cosmic move
     __________________________________________________________________

      [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search |
   [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss |
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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply.
            [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices;
                A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC,
                         [46]NASA Science Activation
                           & [47]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2609/M31Before_Scherer_4298.jpg
   3. https://www.flickr.com/people/kees-scherer/
   4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/kees-scherer/48847775697/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/resource/the-milky-way-galaxy/
   6. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal
   8. https://youtu.be/ean0YNvdmZI
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070825.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080604.html
  12. https://www.eso.org/~ohainaut/ccd/CCD_artifacts.html
  13. https://photographylife.com/dead-vs-stuck-vs-hot-pixels
  14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Photoshop
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1910/AndromedaAfter_Scherer_960.jpg
  16. https://unsplash.com/photos/brown-and-white-medium-coated-dog-MjKUUaYQQ6U
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131230.html
  18. https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2024-september-8-m31-the-andromeda-galaxy/
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190909.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  21. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=45023
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/
  23. https://science.nasa.gov/apod
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260926.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260927
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260928.html
  35. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  36. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  37. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  43. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  46. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  47. http://www.mtu.edu/