Astronomy Picture of the Day
28 January 2026
Orion's Treasures over Snowy Mountains
Image Credit: Włodzimierz Bubak, Ogetay Kayali
Explanation:
Rising over a frozen valley in the
Tatra Mountains, the familiar stars and nebulas of
Orion dominate this wide-field nightscape.
The featured deep photo was
taken
in southern
Poland's
highest mountain range last month, where
dark skies and
alpine terrain combined to reveal both Earth's
rugged beauty and the structure of
our galaxy.
Above the snowy mountains,
Orion's bright belt stars
anchor a region of glowing interstellar clouds.
The Great Orion Nebula, a vast
stellar nursery visible even to the unaided eye,
shines near the center of the scene.
Surrounding it is the enormous arc of
Barnard's Loop,
a faint shell of
ionized hydrogen gas spanning much of the
constellation.
To the left, the round
Rosette Nebula glows softly,
while the grayish
Witch Head Nebula hovers to the right,
illuminated by nearby starlight.
Near the top, the orange supergiant
Betelgeuse
marks the hunter's shoulder.
#APOD #Orion #Stargazing #NightSky #TatraMountains #Poland