The sky on
your birthday.
“Hints of Higgs from the Large Hadron Collider” is copyrighted by CERN. NASA has permission to show it and we don't, so it isn't on this card.
See it on NASA's siteThe Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful particle accelerator ever built, seeks to understand why objects have mass. Since 2008, CERN's LHC has smashed protons together at immense speeds. Scientists are exploring the idea that mass comes from particles interacting with a pervasive field of virtual Higgs particles. Detecting a real Higgs boson would confirm this leading explanation.
The Sun on 18 December 2011
NASA SDO took this picture on 18 December 2011, 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 Sun on your day The Sun on 18 December 2011 See it as a poster -
The Earth on your day The Earth on 18 December 2011 · Atacama and the Andes See it as a poster -
Released on 18 December 2012 Hubble snaps NGC 5189 See it as a poster -
Released on 18 December 2024 Close look at a local galaxy See it as a poster -
Released on 18 December 2024 NGC 2566 (HST image) See it as a poster -
Released on 18 December 2012 Massive Star Makes Waves See it as a poster -
Released on 18 December 2023 Uranus widefield view (NIRCam) See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 18 DEC 2011 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 18 DEC 2011.
Questions about December 18, 2011
What space photo was released on December 18, 2011?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 18, 2011 was "Hints of Higgs from the Large Hadron Collider". 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 18, 2011?
A last quarter moon, about 44% lit.
What day of the week was December 18, 2011?
December 18, 2011 was a Sunday, day 352 of the 365 days in 2011.
Was there a meteor shower on December 18, 2011?
Yes: the Geminid shower, peaked 4 days ago.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on December 18, 2011?
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the Sun that day, and NASA's Terra satellite photographed the whole Earth. Both are 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.