The sky on
your birthday.
“The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens” is copyrighted by J. Rhoads (Arizona State U.) et al., WIYN, AURA, NOAO, NSF. NASA has permission to show it and we don't, so it isn't on this card.
See it on NASA's siteThis isn't a galaxy with four nuclei, but a trick of gravity. The Einstein Cross shows light from a distant quasar bent and split into four images by the gravitational field of a foreground galaxy. This cosmic mirage only happens when the quasar is precisely aligned behind the galaxy's center.
The Sun on 17 December 2017
NASA SDO took this picture on 17 December 2017, 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 17 December 2017 See it as a poster -
The Earth on your day The Earth on 17 December 2017 · Lake Eyre, Australia 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 2017 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 2017.
Questions about December 17, 2017
What space photo was released on December 17, 2017?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 17, 2017 was "The Einstein Cross Gravitational Lens". 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, 2017?
A new moon, about 1% lit.
What day of the week was December 17, 2017?
December 17, 2017 was a Sunday, day 351 of the 365 days in 2017.
Was there a meteor shower on December 17, 2017?
Yes: the Geminid shower, peaked 3 days ago.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on December 17, 2017?
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.