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 August 7
     [2]A deep field image of the sky, with some highlighted areas shown
                               with a zoom-in.

                            Rubin's COSMOS field
         Image Credit & Copyright: [3]NSF–[4]DOE [5]Vera C. Rubin
                   Observatory/[6]NOIRLab/[7]SLAC/[8]AURA
   Text: [9]Cecilia Chirenti ([10]NASA [11]GSFC, [12]UMCP, [13]CRESST II)

   Explanation: There are more than [14]half a million galaxies in the
   central panel of this [15]image from the [16]NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin
   Observatory in [17]Chile. This is the [18]COSMOS field, a patch of sky
   several times larger than the [19]full moon, first observed by
   [20]Hubble. It has also been observed by [21]Webb and other telescopes
   because it contains comparatively few bright [22]stars from our own
   galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other galaxies outside
   the [23]Milky Way. The outer panels, numbered 1-10, show [24]zoomed-in
   views of the corresponding small regions highlighted in the central
   panel. The variety of galaxy shapes and sizes is [25]astonishing. Some
   of them are so far away that their light has traveled for [26]billions
   of years before reaching Earth. Rubin will come back [27]every couple
   of days to the COSMOS field as part of its ten-year [28]Legacy Survey
   of Space and Time. It will allow a dynamic view of the COSMOS field and
   how the sky changes over time.

                      Tomorrow's picture: What's next?
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    Authors & editors: [40]Robert Nemiroff ([41]MTU) & [42]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([43]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [44]Specific rights apply.
            [45]NASA Web Privacy, [46]Accessibility, [47]Notices;
                A service of: [48]ASD at [49]NASA / [50]GSFC,
                         [51]NASA Science Activation
                           & [52]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2608/noirlab2618b.jpg
   3. https://www.nsf.gov/
   4. https://www.energy.gov/
   5. https://rubinobservatory.org/
   6. https://noirlab.edu/public/
   7. https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/
   8. https://www.aura-astronomy.org/
   9. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.chirenti
  10. https://www.nasa.gov/
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
  12. https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/cecilia-chirenti
  13. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
  14. https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2618/
  15. https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2618b/
  16. https://rubinobservatory.org/
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COSMOS_field
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251110.html
  20. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/
  21. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
  22. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/
  23. https://lco.global/spacebook/galaxies/the-milky-way-galaxy/
  24. https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2618b/zoomable/
  25. https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1656340968218-f70f79d042a1
  26. https://esahubble.org/science/age_size/
  27. https://survey-strategy.lsst.io/baseline/ddf.html
  28. https://rubinobservatory.org/news/action-rubin-lsst-begins
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260806.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  35. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  38. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260807
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260808.html
  40. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  41. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  42. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  43. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  44. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  48. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  49. https://www.nasa.gov/
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  51. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  52. http://www.mtu.edu/