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.

2000 October 18
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

The Space Shuttle Docking Ring
Credit: STS-92 Crew, NASA

Explanation: A space shuttle is again visiting the International Space Station (ISS). The STS-92 crew aboard Discovery have already delivered and installed a truss and a docking port on the growing orbiting space station. The station is being prepared for its first permanent crew, currently scheduled to be launched from Kazakstan on October 30. Pictured above, the shuttle's docking ring is being extended to enable a stable connection to the space station.

Tomorrow's picture: An Explosion from Across the Universe

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.