The sky on
your birthday.
“A Force from Empty Space: The Casimir Effect” is copyrighted by Umar Mohideen (U. California at Riverside). NASA has permission to show it and we don't, so it isn't on this card.
See it on NASA's siteThe Casimir Effect describes a force between two uncharged, parallel plates, caused by quantum fluctuations in empty space. This tiny ball, a tenth of a millimeter across, moves towards a plate due to this effect. It is a subtle but real force arising from the vacuum itself.
The Earth on 17 December 2006 · Namib Desert
NASA Terra took this picture on 17 December 2006, the day itself, not a release date.
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 17 December 2006 · Namib Desert See it as a poster -
Released on 17 December 2014 Wide-field view of the bright star clusters Messier 47 and Messier 46 See it as a poster -
Released on 17 December 2015 HH 24 (ground-based view) See it as a poster -
Released on 17 December 2013 Hubble image of variable star RS Puppis See it as a poster -
Released on 17 December 2012 The Needle Galaxy See it as a poster -
Released on 17 December 2014 The star cluster Messier 47 See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 17 DEC 2006 falls under Sagittarius (♐). The sign's window runs from 11-22 through 12-21. Sagittarius points straight at the center of the Milky Way, our galaxy's brightest region. The Sun was crossing this region of the sky on 17 DEC 2006.
Questions about December 17, 2006
What space photo was released on December 17, 2006?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 17, 2006 was "A Force from Empty Space: The Casimir Effect". It's a photographer's copyrighted image, so we link to it on NASA's site and show the Sun or the Earth that day instead.
What was the Moon's phase on December 17, 2006?
A waning crescent moon, about 9% lit.
What day of the week was December 17, 2006?
December 17, 2006 was a Sunday, day 351 of the 365 days in 2006.
Was there a meteor shower on December 17, 2006?
Yes: the Geminid shower, peaked 3 days ago.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on December 17, 2006?
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.