Ou4: A Giant Squid Nebula
18.07.2014

A mysterious, squid-like apparition, this nebula is very faint, but also very large in planet Earth's sky. In the mosaic image, composed with narrowband data from the 2.5 meter Isaac Newton Telescope, it spans some 2.5 full moons toward the constellation Cepheus.

Tails of Comet Garradd
20.10.2011

A good target for binoculars and small telescopes, Comet Garradd (C/2009 P1) now shines in planet Earth's evening skies, a steady performer but just below naked-eye visibility. Telescopic images like this composite from...

Lalande 21185: The Nearest Planetary System?
19.10.1996

What's the closest extrasolar planetary system? It may well be planets of the dim red dwarf star cataloged as Lalande 21185 -- a mere 8 light years distant. This star is too faint to be seen by the naked eye and its planets have not been imaged directly.

A Perseid Below
10.08.2014

Denizens of planet Earth typically watch meteor showers by looking up. But this remarkable view, captured on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan, caught a Perseid meteor by looking down. From Garan...

ISS Double Transit
11.09.2015

Not once, but twice the International Space Station transits the Sun on consecutive orbits of planet Earth in this video frame composite. The scene was captured on August 22 from a single well-chosen location in Schmalenbeck, Germany where the ISS created intersecting shadow paths only around 7 kilometers wide.

Full Moon Silhouettes
30.01.2013

Have you ever watched the Moon rise? The slow rise of a nearly full moon over a clear horizon can be an impressive sight. One impressive moonrise was imaged two nights ago over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand.

A Giant Squid in the Flying Bat
26.10.2016

Very faint but also very large on planet Earth's sky, a giant Squid Nebula cataloged as Ou4, and Sh2-129 also known as the Flying Bat Nebula, are both caught in this cosmic scene toward the royal constellation Cepheus.

Time Lapse Auroras Over Norway
28.03.2011

Sometimes, after your eyes adapt to the dark, a spectacular sky appears. Such was the case earlier this month when one of the largest auroral displays in recent years appeared over northern locations like the border between Norway and Russia.

APOD: 2011 December 11 Searching for Meteorites in Antarctica
11.12.2011

Where is the best place on Earth to find meteorites? Although meteors fall all over the world, they usually just sink to the bottom of an ocean, are buried by shifting terrain, or are easily confused with terrestrial rocks.

Huygens on Titan Illustrated
30.01.2006

If you could stand on Titan, what might you see? About one year ago the robotic Huygens probe landed on the enigmatic moon of Saturn and sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan's thick cloud layers.