¿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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. 2020 June 2 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Novel Coronavirus Attacks Humanity Image Credit & [3]License: [4]NIAID Explanation: Humanity is under attack. The attack is not from large [5]tentacle-flailing aliens, but from invaders so small they can barely be seen, and so strange they are [6]not even clearly alive. All over [7]planet Earth, the human home world, [8]DNA-based humans are being invaded by the [9]RNA-based [10]SARS-CoV2. The virus, which creates a disease known as [11]COVID-19, specializes in reprogramming human cells into [12]zombies that manufacture and release copies of itself. [13]Pictured here is a high magnification image of a human cell covered by attacking novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 (orange). [14]Epic battles where two species square off in a fight to the death are not unusual on Earth, with several just involving [15]humans typically [16]ongoing at any time. Even so, most humans are predicted to survive. After several years, [17]humanity expects to win this war -- but only after millions of humans have died and trillions of corona[18]viruses have been destroyed. Wash your hands: [19]Tips for humans on how to survive this SARS-CoV2 assault Tomorrow's picture: venus nearest __________________________________________________________________ [20]< | [21]Archive | [22]Submissions | [23]Index | [24]Search | [25]Calendar | [26]RSS | [27]Education | [28]About APOD | [29]Discuss | [30]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [31]Robert Nemiroff ([32]MTU) & [33]Jerry Bonnell ([34]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [35]Specific rights apply. [36]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [37]ASD at [38]NASA / [39]GSFC & [40]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2006/SarsCov2_Niaid_4096.jpg 3. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ 4. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/ 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrials_in_fiction#/media/File:War-of-the-worlds-tripod.jpg 6. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-viruses-alive-2004/ 7. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120821.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus_disease_2019 12. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170313-real-life-zombies-that-are-stranger-than-fiction 13. https://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/49727106208/in/album-72157712914621487/ 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170424.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190818.html 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics 17. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-020-0407-x 18. https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/viruswars/viruses.php 19. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200601.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 24. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 29. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200602 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200603.html 31. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 33. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 34. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 36. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 37. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 38. https://www.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 40. http://www.mtu.edu/