Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 April 3
   [2]Illustration showing a binary black hole close to merger in front of
     the Tarantula Nebula. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

       Caught in the Web: Visualization of a Black Hole Merger in the
                              Tarantula Nebula
    Illustration Credit & [3]Copyright: Artwork: [4]Carl Knox ([5]OzGrav,
                   [6]Swinburne University of Technology);
           Astrophotography: [7]Blake Estes & [8]Christian Sasse,
      [9]iTelescope.net; Text: [10]Cecilia Chirenti ([11]NASA [12]GSFC,
                          [13]UMCP, [14]CRESST II)

   Explanation: How can we see what is invisible? [15]Black holes are not
   easy to see in the dark cosmic night, but astronomers can find them by
   analyzing their gravitational effects on [16]matter, [17]light and
   [18]spacetime. The [19]featured image shows an illustration that
   combines a simulation of a black hole binary system in its final
   "[20]death-dance" with an astrophotography image of the [21]Tarantula
   Nebula in the background. Even though black holes don't emit light,
   they distort the path of light rays, acting like a [22]gravitational
   lens. As a result, the nebula appears extremely distorted, forming
   [23]Einstein rings and [24]multiple images. Tarantula Nebula lies in
   the [25]Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is one of the
   [26]satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, [27]160,000 light-years away.
   That is more than [28]1,000 times closer than any of the binary black
   hole mergers detected [29]so far. We'll probably never detect a merger
   so close to home!

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [41]Robert Nemiroff ([42]MTU) & [43]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([44]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [45]Specific rights apply.
            [46]NASA Web Privacy, [47]Accessibility, [48]Notices;
                A service of: [49]ASD at [50]NASA / [51]GSFC,
                         [52]NASA Science Activation
                           & [53]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2604/BH_Merger_Tarantula.jpg
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.instagram.com/knoxcarl
   5. https://www.ozgrav.org/
   6. https://www.swinburne.edu.au/
   7. https://www.instagram.com/thescopesmith/
   8. https://www.instagram.com/sassephoto/
   9. https://www.itelescope.net/
  10. https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/cecilia.chirenti
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/
  12. https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
  13. https://www.astro.umd.edu/people/cecilia-chirenti
  14. https://cresst2.umd.edu/
  15. https://science.nasa.gov/universe/black-holes/
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF8THY5spmo
  17. https://eventhorizontelescope.org/
  18. https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/what-are-gw
  19. https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/image/ligo20251028c
  20. https://media.istockphoto.com/id/2159704816/vector/dancing-human-skeletons-risen-from-dead-and-celebrating-halloween-on-october-31st.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=7XNuktMYaChFJ__s3GCuT0NGU12tzY9cMQksCNjy1j4=
  21. https://www.flickr.com/photos/191315330@N08/55181451273/in/dateposted-public/
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_lens
  23. https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/a-gallery-of-einstein-rings/
  24. https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/hubbles-gravitational-lens-gallery/
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241002.html
  26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_galaxies_of_the_Milky_Way
  27. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/the-galaxy-next-door/
  28. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gravitational_wave_observations
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260326.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260402.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  36. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  39. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260403
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260404.html
  41. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  42. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  43. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  44. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  45. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  49. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  52. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  53. http://www.mtu.edu/