APOD: 2026 August 16 – Milky Way over Yellowstone
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 16 – Milky… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day 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. Milky Way […]
On August 16, 2026, an Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) showcased the Milky Way over Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. The featured image depicted a colorful, 10-meter-wide pool of water, known as Silex Spring, illuminated artificially by layers of bacteria thriving in the hot spring. Steam rose from the spring, heated by magma located beneath the Earth's surface, associated with the Yellowstone Hotspot.
The central band of the Milky Way Galaxy was visible above the spring, arching high overhead, lit by billions of stars. The image was taken as a 16-image panorama in 2014. The Yellowstone Hotspot, if it were to cause another supervolcanic eruption, as it did approximately 640,000 years ago, could significantly impact a large part of North America.
The APOD image was credited to Dave Lane, with editorial contributions from Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, and Keighley Rockcliffe. The Astronomy Picture of the Day service is a collaboration between the Astroparticle Department at NASA/GSFC, NASA Science Activation, and Michigan Technological University.
Written by urgent.news from NASA's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- APOD: 2026 August 16 – Milky Way over Yellowstone science.nasa.gov
