September 22, 2026
Another trip around the Sun. A whole sky of possibilities.
Birthday · September 22, 2026
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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Selected image source ↗ APOD published September 22, 2026. Credit: Petr Horalek / Inst. Physics Opava. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Behind the original result
Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun
Original APOD · September 22, 2026 ↗Read the original APOD for the astronomer’s explanation and full image credits. Its text is preserved in the archive as published.
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This shot captured an unexpected silhouette. Which is it? It isn't the sunspots, the small dark regions caused by concentrated magnetic fields visible around the Sun's bright disk. Sunspots typically last for weeks and were expected, since these spots were seen previously. It isn’t the International Space Station (ISS), the small dark structure on the middle left. This is because the featured picture was planned with sub-second timing to record the iconic structure passing before the Sun. It is the airplane. Just as this exposure was taking place in June, from Prasek in the Czech Republic, an airplane began its own miniature partial eclipse. The result is this triply aligned image of our Sun. The photographer estimates that the chance of any random Sun image containing silhouettes of both a space station and an airplane, from that location, is about 30 million to one. APOD's main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Image credit: Petr Horalek / Inst. Physics Opava
Explore September 22 in other years · 32 APOD entries, 1995–2026
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