APOD: 2026 April 16 Б South Celestial Tree
Explanation:
If you live in the northern
hemisphere, you may have learned how to locate
the North Star,
Polaris, in the night sky.
It can be used to find north, and it approximately marks the
northern
celestial pole.
If you live in the southern hemisphere, there is no bright star marking the southern
celestial pole, but the Southern Cross
can be used to find south.
The featured image
was taken in Padre Bernardo
(GO), Brazil.
It shows the apparent motion of the stars around the apparently empty southern celestial
pole over 2 hours, on August 20, 2018.
Each star takes about
24 hours to make a complete turn around the pole in the sky.
Padre Bernardo is located in the Cerrado
region, a tropical savanna that occupies most of central Brazil and supports rich
biodiversity.
The barren branch that apparently supports this sky wheel of rotating stars is a
common sight there in the dry
season during the southern winter.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
