Starship Asterisk*

The "Credit" line on the main NASA APOD has now been shortened to just "JAXA". This was done at the request of JAXA's Public Information Officer. We apologize for the oversight. - RJN

It turns out that there is another UV lunar observatory! This one is part of China's Chang'e 3 lander. Information about it is here: http://english.nao.cas.cn/Research2015/rp2015/201701/t20170120_173602.html Therefore, the main APOD text has been updated to account for this. We apologize for the ove...

The parenthetical words "(not pictured)" have now been added to the text of the main NASA APOD to clarify that the image featured does not include infrared light. We apologize for any confusion. - RJN

Jersey Shore is in PA The image was taken over the Jersey Shore, meaning the Atlantic coast of New Jersey. The video linked, though, was to the PA borough, and so this link has now been removed from the main NASA APOD. Also "the" was added to be more clear. Thanks for your help, and we ap...

As helpfully pointed out by several emailers, the name of this comet includes "21P", not the number-reversed version that appears in the title. This has now been corrected on the main NASA APOD. Thank you to those emailers. I apologize for the cofnusion (sic). - RJN

FLPhotoCatcher wrote: ↑Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:24 am the Bumper 2.

The caption says "V-2", not "2". The caption is therefore correct.

Also, is this the launch of Bumper 2, or Bumper 8? According to a nasa.gov site (https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_765.html) this is Bumper 2. On the other hand, wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTV-G-4_Bumper) has a table listing Bumper 8 as the first launch from Cape C...

The NASA APOD text has been updated to incorporate the fact that 400 kilometers is, actually, on a par with the height of the (modern) International Space Station. We apologize for the oversight.
- RJN

vanlewkn wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 4:52 am Isn't this analemma done at local noon rather than 4 PM?

Yes, that is correct. Thanks for pointing this out. This has now been corrected on the main NASA APOD. I apologize for the oversight.

- RJN

first98@sonic.net wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:20 pm No credit to the performers of the Strauss waltz? Shame!

Good point. It was provided for free by YouTube without obvious attribution. Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ntn86KbtG4 . If anyone can track down the performers please post it here.

The numeric date has now been corrected on the main NASA APOD. We apologize for the oversight.
- RJN

Given an email request, the University of Nantes has been added to the credit line in the main NASA APOD. We apologize for the oversight.
- RJN

Locutus76 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:05 pm

extended blue arms of NGC 4435 were created.

Shouldn’t that be the extended blue arms of NGC 4438? Based on the labeled image from the creator.

Yes. This has now been fixed on the main NASA APOD. My apologies for the oversight.

- RJN

This image, along with the APOD posting, received significant press attention in Brazil. Upon my request, the photographer provided me with some press coverage links. Here're some publications regarding the APOD image: [ Biggest Brazilian Newspaper ] - https://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/ciencia/nasa...

Torpedobait wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 11:40 am ... the same affect that makes Earth's sky blue." The correct word is "effect".

Sorry. I just fixed it on the main NASA APOD site. Thanks!
- RJN

alter-ego wrote: ↑Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:45 am The moon (center) / Venus separation was just within 0.7°.

This oversight has now been fixed on the main NASA APOD. Thanks!
- RJN

Here is a subtitled YouTube video of the astrophotographer, Maroun Habib, being interviewed on Lebanese TV, mostly about this image!

APOD Robot wrote: ↑Mon Jul 02, 2018 4:06 am ... the Trifid Nebula (M21), ...
M20 is the Trifid.

Yes. I just changed the Messier number on the NASA APOD. Thanks and apologies!
- RJN

MarkBour wrote: ↑Tue Jun 26, 2018 3:43 pm I think the caption should use "peek" rather than "peak",

Yes. This change has now been made on the main NASA APOD. Thank you!

Based on correspondence with a paper author, I have now updated links on the NASA APOD. The phrase "recently popular hypthosis" now points to this paper, appearing free on arXiv and accepted by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018arXiv18...

bjmb wrote: ↑Mon May 14, 2018 5:00 am "To help find out, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn ... " didn't cassini crash into saturn in september 2017?

Yes, thanks. This has now been fixed on the NASA APOD. Apologies.
- RJN

In response to several inquiries, the words "visible light" have been changed just to "light" in the third sentence on the NASA APOD. This is because, in part, microwaves are light but not visible to the human eye. I apologize for the "oversight".

- RJN

Because the Sun was not visible in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) during these exposures, the title of this APOD has had "HDF" changed to "HDR" (high dynamic range) in the NASA APOD version. I apologize for the oversight. - RJN

I think the social network system is complex enough that it is nearly impossible to determine what exactly gives it a high viral rating. This is a fascinating topic that I think about a lot. The main reason I thought this image would do well on FB APOD was because it did so well on FB Sky. This ima...

Last comment for now -- I am not saying that APOD prefers to feature images that are purposely somewhat unusual in the interest of popularity. In fact, I think APOD currently strives to feature important and inspiring astronomy images regardless of such effects. However, in due course, I thought I n...