June 18, 2000
Long before your first heartbeat, stars were busy forging the elements you would one day call your own.
The Milky Way Near the Southern Cross
Birthday · June 18, 2000
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 18, 2000. Credit: Greg Bock, Southern Astronomical Society. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This breathtaking patch of sky would be above you were you to stand at the South Pole of the Earth. Just above and to the right of this photograph's center are the four stars that mark the boundaries of the famous Southern Cross. At the top of this constellation, also known as The Crux, is the orange star Gamma Crucis. The band of stars, dust, and gas crossing the middle of the photograph is part our Milky Way Galaxy. In the very center of the photograph is the dark Coal Sack Nebula, and the bright nebula on the far right is the Carina Nebula. The Southern Cross is such a famous constellation that it is depicted on the national flag of Australia.
Image credit: Greg Bock, Southern Astronomical Society