The sky on
your birthday.
A Milestone Quasar
This photo shows a typical quasar, which is on the left. Quasars are incredibly bright, distant objects that appear as unresolved points of light, like stars. The bright object to its right is a star, and above the quasar is an elliptical galaxy, with an interacting pair of spiral galaxies near the top.
We cannot put this date's photograph on paper at poster size. We can print the nearest public archive plate to your date instead.
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Released on your day
Space pictures released on your month and day in other years, or a few days either side. Each one is sharp enough to print as a poster.
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Released on 18 August 2012 Curiosity on Mars: Still Life with Rover See it as a poster -
Released on 18 August 2025 NGC 1309: A Useful Spiral Galaxy See it as a poster -
Released on 18 August 2025 Noteworthy nearby spiral See it as a poster -
Released on 18 August 2013 Skylab Over Earth See it as a poster -
Released on 18 August 2018 Earth's limb and dust storms in the Sahara are pictured as the International Space Station orbited nearly 252 miles See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 18 AUG 1996 falls under Leo (♌). The sign's window runs from 07-23 through 08-22. Leo is anchored by Regulus, the heart of the Lion, twenty-four parsecs from Earth. The Sun was crossing this region of the sky on 18 AUG 1996.
Questions about August 18, 1996
What space photo was released on August 18, 1996?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 18, 1996 was "A Milestone Quasar". It's the card at the top of this page.
What was the Moon's phase on August 18, 1996?
A waxing crescent moon, about 17% lit.
What day of the week was August 18, 1996?
August 18, 1996 was a Sunday, day 231 of the 366 days in 1996.
Was there a meteor shower on August 18, 1996?
Yes: the Perseid shower, peaked 5 days ago.
Is it free?
Yes. Seeing, sharing and downloading the card is free, and there's no account to make.