{"id":7020,"date":"2026-07-31T04:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T04:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/apod-2026-july-31-ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T04:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T04:05:00","slug":"apod-2026-july-31-ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/apod-2026-july-31-ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad\/","title":{"rendered":"APOD: 2026 July 31 \u2013 NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"hds-module hds-module-full alignfull wp-block-nasa-blocks-secondary-navigation\">\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-navigation-wrapper z-top width-100 padding-0\">\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-navigation width-full border-bottom-1px text-center hds-color-mode-dark hds-module hds-module-full alignfull wp-block-nasa-blocks-hdsnav\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"hds-secondary-nav-mobile-button display-flex tablet:display-flex desktop:display-none width-full flex-align-center bg-carbon-90 border-color-carbon-80 color-spacesuit-white\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"hds-secondary-nav-track\"><span>APOD<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-nav-track grid-container grid-container-extrawide padding-0 tablet:padding-x-3 desktop:padding-x-2 hds-secondary-navigation-has-breadcrumbs\">\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-navigation-breadcrumbs display-none tablet:display-none desktop:display-flex flex-align-center\">\n<nav class=\"usa-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\">\n<ol class=\"usa-breadcrumb__list\">\n<li class=\"usa-breadcrumb__list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/\" class=\"usa-breadcrumb__link\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>Science<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-breadcrumb__list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-index\/\" class=\"usa-breadcrumb__link\" rel=\"noopener\"><span>APOD<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-breadcrumb__list-item usa-current\" aria-current=\"page\"><span>APOD: 2026 July 31 \u2013 NGC\u2026<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-navigation-menu-items\">\n<nav>\n<ul class=\"usa-nav__primary usa-accordion flex-justify-center margin-0\">\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Today\u2019s APOD<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/archive\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Archive<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/submit\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Submissions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-index\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Index<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-search\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Search<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-calendar\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Calendar<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/feed\/apod-basic\/\" rel=\"noopener\">RSS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-education\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/apod-about\/\" rel=\"noopener\">About<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"usa-nav__primary-item\"><a class=\"usa-nav__link\" href=\"https:\/\/asterisk.apod.com\/viewtopic.php?t=44980\" rel=\"noopener\">Discuss<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-secondary-navigation-menu-spacer\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-media-detail-hero nasa-gb-align-wide width-full maxw-full margin-y-5 desktop:margin-y-7 padding-x-3 media-detail-hero--suppress-inner-media-caption hds-module alignwide wp-block-nasa-blocks-media-detail-hero\">\n<div class=\"grid-container grid-container-block padding-x-0\">\n<p class=\"label margin-bottom-1\">APOD<\/p>\n<p class=\"heading-22 margin-top-0 margin-bottom-2\">Astronomy Picture of the Day<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-md margin-top-0 margin-bottom-3 media-detail-hero__subtext\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/archive\/\">Discover the cosmos!<\/a> Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"media-detail-hero__media margin-bottom-6\">\n<div class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\">\n<div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-full\">\n<div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\">\n<figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-fit\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/cds\/apod\/apod\/2026\/july\/DARK-DOODAD_2048.jpg?w=2048&amp;h=1307&amp;fit=clip&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1307\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.science.nasa.gov\/dynamicimage\/assets\/science\/cds\/apod\/apod\/2026\/july\/DARK-DOODAD_2048.jpg?w=2048&amp;h=1307&amp;fit=clip&amp;crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"A telescopic image of a dark nebula.\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"display-48 margin-top-0 margin-bottom-3\">NGC 4372 and the Dark Doodad<\/h1>\n<div class=\"grid-row media-detail-hero__content-row\">\n<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-6\">\n<p class=\"p-md margin-0 media-detail-hero__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Explanation:<\/strong> The Dark Doodad Nebula drifts <a href=\"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/fap\/ap210101.html\" rel=\"noopener\">through southern skies<\/a>, a tantalizing target for binoculars toward the small constellation <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Musca\" rel=\"noopener\">Musca<\/a>, The Fly. A dusty interstellar cloud, it\u2019s seen against rich starfields just south of the Coalsack Nebula and the Southern Cross. Stretching for about 3 degrees across this telescopic field of view, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dark_Doodad_Nebula\" rel=\"noopener\">the Dark Doodad<\/a> is punctuated near its southern tip (upper right) by yellowish globular star cluster <a href=\"http:\/\/spider.seds.org\/spider\/MWGC\/n4372.html\" rel=\"noopener\">NGC 4372<\/a>. Of course NGC 4372 roams the halo of our <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/resource\/the-milky-way-galaxy\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Milky Way<\/a> galaxy, a background object some 20,000 light-years away and only by chance along our line-of-sight to the Dark Doodad. About 700 light-years distant and over 30 light-years long, the Dark Doodad\u2019s well defined silhouette belongs to the <a href=\"https:\/\/arxiv.org\/abs\/1507.03742\" rel=\"noopener\">potentially<\/a> star-forming <a href=\"https:\/\/ui.adsabs.harvard.edu\/abs\/2024A%26A...687L...9E\/abstract\" rel=\"noopener\">Musca molecular cloud<\/a>. The dusty Dark Doodad\u2019s delightfully alliterative moniker was first coined by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.minorplanetcenter.net\/db_search\/show_object?utf8=%E2%9C%93&amp;object_id=dicicco\" rel=\"noopener\">astro-imager and writer<\/a> Dennis di Cicco in 1986 while observing Comet Halley from the Australian outback.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tomorrow\u2019s picture: <\/strong>pixels in space\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"display-none desktop:display-block desktop:grid-col-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"grid-col-12 desktop:grid-col-5 margin-top-3 desktop:margin-top-0\">\n<table class=\"media-detail-hero__meta-table width-full\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"media-detail-hero__meta-row\">\n<th scope=\"row\" class=\"label padding-y-1\">Date<\/th>\n<td class=\"p-sm padding-y-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 31, 2026\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"media-detail-hero__meta-row\">\n<th scope=\"row\" class=\"label padding-y-1\">Credit<\/th>\n<td class=\"p-sm padding-y-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/astrobares\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Alessandro Cipolat Bares<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"media-detail-hero__meta-row\">\n<th scope=\"row\" class=\"label padding-y-1\">Authors &amp; editors:<\/th>\n<td class=\"p-sm padding-y-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRobert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"media-detail-hero__meta-row\">\n<th scope=\"row\" class=\"label padding-y-1\">A service of:<\/th>\n<td class=\"p-sm padding-y-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/science.gsfc.nasa.gov\/astrophysics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ASD<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/goddard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GSFC<\/a>,<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/learn\/about-science-activation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA Science Activation<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mtu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michigan Tech. U.<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"nasa-gb-align-wide nasa-button-link padding-y-1 padding-x-0 hds-module alignwide wp-block-nasa-blocks-related-link\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/apod\/random-apod\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"button-primary button-primary-md link-external-false\" aria-label=\"Random APOD Generator\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"line-height-alt-1\">Random APOD Generator<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/div>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-module alignwide wp-block-smd-block-next-prev\">\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles\">\n            <a class=\"smd-next-prev__prev\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/image-article\/apod\/apod-july-30-red-sun-trough-wildfire-smoke\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"hds-next-prev-nav-arrow hds-next-prev-arrow-prev\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__content\">\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__prev-label\">\n                        Yesterday\u2019s Image                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__prev\">\n                        APOD: 2026 July 30 \u2013 Red Sun trough Wildfire Smoke                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/>\n            <a class=\"smd-next-prev__next smd-next-prev__disabled\" href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/image-article\/apod-2026-july-31-ngc-4372-and-the-dark-doodad\/#\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__content\">\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__next-label\">\n                        Tomorrow\u2019s Image                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"smd-next-prev-buttons-titles__next\">\n                                            <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hds-next-prev-nav-arrow hds-next-prev-arrow-next\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 July 31 \u2013 NGC\u2026 Today\u2019s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss \u00a0 APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. NGC 4372 &hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gundem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rdgundem.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}