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APOD: 2026 October 12 –…
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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.
Jupiter and the Moons
Explanation: How many moons can you see? The best answer is five: four orbiting Jupiter and Luna orbiting Earth. This multi-moon picture was possible because Earth’s Moon moved directly in front of Jupiter last week. The featured image is a series of exposures near alignment taken from Westchester, New York, USA. The sunlit crescent of Earth’s Moon, on the lower left, is overexposed, while the Moon’s night side, on the upper right, is faintly illuminated by Earthshine. Lined up nearly vertically above our Moon, listed from bottom to top, are Jupiter’s bright Galilean satellites: Ganymede, Io, Callisto, and Europa. Callisto, Ganymede, and Io are larger than Earth’s Moon, while Europa is only slightly smaller. NASA’s robotic spacecraft Juno is currently orbiting Jupiter and has made close passes near three of these moons.
Tomorrow’s picture: stairway to heaven
Date:
October 12, 2026
Credit & Copyright:
Chirag Upreti
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of:
ASD at NASA / GSFC,NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.
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