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 22
        [2]An image of the Sun is shown with several dark silhouettes
     superposed. On the upper right is an airplane, on the right is the
    International Space Station, and across the Sun are several sunspots.
          Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

             Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun
     Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Petr Horalek / [4]Inst. Physics Opava

   Explanation: This shot captured an unexpected silhouette. Which is it?
   It isn't the [5]sunspots, the small dark regions caused by concentrated
   [6]magnetic fields visible around the Sun's bright disk. [7]Sunspots
   typically last for weeks and were expected, since these spots were seen
   previously. It isn’t the [8]International Space Station (ISS), the
   [9]small dark [10]structure on the middle left.  This is because the
   [11]featured picture was planned with sub-second timing to record the
   [12]iconic structure passing before the [13]Sun. It is the
   [14]airplane. Just as [15]this exposure was taking place in June, from
   [16]Prasek in the [17]Czech Republic, an airplane began its own
   miniature [18]partial eclipse. The result is this [19]triply aligned
   image of our Sun. The photographer estimates that the chance of any
   [20]random Sun image containing [21]silhouettes of both a space station
   and an airplane, from that location, is about 30 million to one.

       APOD's main NASA site is [22]moving: From [23]apod.nasa.gov to
                          [24]science.nasa.gov/apod
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [40]Specific rights apply.
            [41]NASA Web Privacy, [42]Accessibility, [43]Notices;
                A service of: [44]ASD at [45]NASA / [46]GSFC,
                         [47]NASA Science Activation
                           & [48]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2609/PlaneIssSpots_Horalek_1500.jpg
   3. https://www.petrhoralek.com/#about-1
   4. https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/
   5. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/sunspots/
   6. https://youtu.be/1Nr-KtlMIKI
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260211.html
   8. https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220411.html
  10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161105.html
  11. https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=26197
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250618.html
  13. https://science.nasa.gov/sun/
  14. https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/VirtualAero/BottleRocket/airplane/airplane.html
  15. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=999397279455516&set=a.149603584434894
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasek
  17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260903.html
  19. https://unsplash.com/photos/a-group-of-cats-sitting-on-top-of-a-wooden-bench-oUmA5r-vv0g
  20. https://science.nasa.gov/apod/random-apod/
  21. https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2021-october-10-full-moon-silhouettes/
  22. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=45023
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/
  24. https://science.nasa.gov/apod
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260921.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260922
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260923.html
  36. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/department/faculty/nemiroff/
  37. https://www.mtu.edu/physics/
  38. https://inspirehep.net/authors/1073087
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  44. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/astrophysics/
  45. https://www.nasa.gov/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  47. https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
  48. http://www.mtu.edu/