The sky on
your birthday.
“Geminids over China's Nianhu Lake” is copyrighted by Hongyang Luo. NASA has permission to show it and we don't, so it isn't on this card.
See it on NASA's siteThe Geminid meteor shower in December appears to originate from the constellation Gemini. This is why the shower is named after it. These meteors are sand-sized debris shed from the asteroid 3200 Phaethon. The debris follows a well-defined orbit around the Sun, and when Earth passes through this stream, we see the meteors light up our sky.
The Sun on 17 December 2023
NASA SDO took this picture on 17 December 2023, 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 2023 See it as a poster -
The Earth on your day The Earth on 17 December 2023 · Pilbara, Western 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 2023 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 2023.
Questions about December 17, 2023
What space photo was released on December 17, 2023?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 17, 2023 was "Geminids over China's Nianhu Lake". 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, 2023?
A waxing crescent moon, about 23% lit.
What day of the week was December 17, 2023?
December 17, 2023 was a Sunday, day 351 of the 365 days in 2023.
Was there a meteor shower on December 17, 2023?
Yes: the Geminid shower, peaked 3 days ago.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on December 17, 2023?
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.