The sky on
your birthday.
Hot Stars in the Southern Milky Way
This dramatic region of the southern Milky Way, in the constellation Ara, is about 4,000 light-years from Earth. It's filled with hot blue stars, glowing red hydrogen gas, and dark dust clouds. The intense ultraviolet radiation from the young, massive stars on the left is ionizing the surrounding hydrogen gas. This process creates the characteristic red 'hydrogen-alpha' glow, marking a region of active star formation.
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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The Earth on your day The Earth on 22 December 2001 · Red Sea See it as a poster -
Released on 22 December 2010 Chasing Chickens in the Lambda Centauri Nebula See it as a poster -
Released on 22 December 2023 Imaging Io's Volcanos With JunoCam See it as a poster -
Released on 22 December 2004 Spiral galaxy NGC 1097 See it as a poster -
Released on 22 December 2025 Long-distance relationship See it as a poster -
Released on 22 December 2014 The beautiful side of IC 335 See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 22 DEC 2001 falls under Capricorn (♑). The sign's window runs from 12-22 through 01-19. Capricorn is the dimmest zodiac constellation, but rich in deep-sky objects south of the celestial equator. The Sun was crossing this region of the sky on 22 DEC 2001.
Questions about December 22, 2001
What space photo was released on December 22, 2001?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 22, 2001 was "Hot Stars in the Southern Milky Way". It's the card at the top of this page.
What was the Moon's phase on December 22, 2001?
A first quarter moon, about 46% lit.
What day of the week was December 22, 2001?
December 22, 2001 was a Saturday, day 356 of the 365 days in 2001.
Was there a meteor shower on December 22, 2001?
Yes: the Ursid shower, peak tonight.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on December 22, 2001?
NASA's Terra satellite photographed the whole Earth that day. It's on this page, next to the card.
Is it free?
Yes. Seeing, sharing and downloading the card is free, and there's no account to make.