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.

                               2020 February 2
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           Zeta Oph: Runaway Star
      Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]Spitzer Space Telescope

   Explanation: Like a ship plowing through cosmic seas, [6]runaway star
   Zeta Ophiuchi produces the arcing interstellar bow wave or [7]bow shock
   seen in this [8]stunning infrared portrait. In the false-color view,
   bluish Zeta Oph, a star about 20 times more massive than the Sun, lies
   near the center of the frame, moving toward the left at 24 kilometers
   per second. Its strong stellar wind precedes it, compressing and
   heating the dusty [9]interstellar material and shaping the curved shock
   front. What set this star in motion? Zeta Oph was likely once a member
   of a [10]binary star system, its companion star was more massive and
   hence shorter lived. When the companion [11]exploded as a supernova
   catastrophically losing mass, Zeta Oph was flung out of the system.
   About 460 light-years away, [12]Zeta Oph is 65,000 times more luminous
   than [13]the Sun and would be one of the brighter stars in the sky if
   it weren't surrounded by obscuring [14]dust. The image spans about 1.5
   degrees or 12 [15]light-years at the estimated distance of [16]Zeta
   Ophiuchi. Last week, NASA placed the [17]Spitzer Space Telescope in
   [18]safe mode, ending its 16 [19]successful years of studying our
   universe.

   News: [20]NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope Ends Mission of Astronomical
                                  Discovery
                      Tomorrow's picture: sun bubbling
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    Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([35]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply.
              [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC
                           & [41]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2002/ZetaOph_spitzer_4015.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html
   6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061124.html
   7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rGz862VPRo
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia16604.html
   9. http://espg.sr.unh.edu/ism/what1.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970219.html
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_II_supernova
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_Ophiuchi
  13. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  15. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/how_long_is_a_light_year.htm
  16. http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/zetaoph.html
  17. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/main/index.html
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_mode_(spacecraft)
  19. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/news/2195-ssc2019-15-Sixteen-Images-for-Spitzer-s-Sweet-16
  20. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-spitzer-space-telescope-ends-mission-of-astronomical-discovery
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200201.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  30. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200202
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200203.html
  32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  41. http://www.mtu.edu/