Few subjects are as awe-inspiring and fascinating than the night sky, and we've just uncovered an archive of photos from NASA that are out of this world. Astronomy Picture of the Day is a free website that exists to bring you just that: every day a different image or photograph of the universe gets featured, and there's also a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer so that you can find out more about the shot.
For example, in the picture above by Ignacio Javier Diaz Bobilloy , the explanation on the Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA website reads: "The entire Carina Nebula, captured here, spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that much of the Great Nebula in Carina has been a veritable supernova factory."
Wondering what the difference between astronomy and astrophotography is? Astronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe, while astrophotography is "the use of photography in astronomy!"
You can see up to 35 years' (yes, years) worth of daily photos on the Archive to inspire your astrophotography. Why not bookmark the page and revisit for a daily dose?
And if you're keen to start taking stunning astronomical images yourself, why not discover the best cameras for astrophotography?
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