Surveyor Slides
13.05.2000

"Safe!" In September 1967 (during regular season play), the Surveyor 5 lander actually slid several feet while making a successful soft landing on the Moon's Mare Tranquillitatis. Equipped with television cameras and soil...

A Total Eclipse Over Africa
11.07.2001

What's that dark spot on the Sun? It's the Moon. Last month, on June 21, a total solar eclipse was visible in parts of Africa. In one of the most spectacular records of this eclipse, Cees Bassa captured the setting Sun being eclipsed in a series of multiple exposures from Malambanyama, Zambia.

Dusk of the Planets
29.04.2002

A great grouping of planets is now visible to the west just after sunset. Over the next two weeks, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn -- all the planets of the inner Solar System -- can be seen in a single knowing glance. The image on the left captured them all in one frame.

The Phases of Venus
10.01.2006

Venus goes through phases. Just like our Moon, Venus can appear as full as a disk or as a thin as a crescent. Venus, frequently the brightest object in the post-sunset or pre-sunrise sky, appears so small, however, that it usually requires binoculars or a small telescope to clearly see its current phase.

Ganymede: Moonquake World
4.09.1995

Ganymede probably undergoes frequent ground shaking events not unlike terrestrial earthquakes. Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter and the Solar System, has a thick outer coating of water ice. Passing Voyager spacecraft found...

Carl Sagan 1934-1996
26.12.1996

Carl Sagan died last Friday at the age of 62. Sagan was the world's most famous astronomer. Among his many activities as a scientist, he contributed to the discovery that the atmosphere...

Eclipse in Seven
11.04.2024

Start at the upper left above and you can follow the progress of April 8's total eclipse of the Sun in seven sharp, separate exposures. The image sequence was recorded with a telescope and camera located within the narrow path of totality as the Moon's shadow swept across Newport, Vermont, USA.

M8: The Lagoon Nebula
7.07.1998

The bright Lagoon Nebula is home to a diverse array of astronomical objects. Particularly interesting sources include a bright open cluster of stars and several energetic star-forming regions. The general red glow is caused by luminous hydrogen gas, while the dark filaments are caused by absorption by dense lanes of dust.

A Solar Corona Ejection
8.11.1996

The Sun would not be a nice place to spend the summer. One reason, besides the extreme heat, is that explosions are common there. In the above picture, magnetic fields buckle releasing previously constrained hot material from the upper atmosphere of the Sun.

Stonehenge: Ancient Monument to the Sun
17.12.1997

Stonehenge consists of large carved stones assembled about 4000 years ago. Long before modern England was established, ancient inhabitants somehow moved 25 ton rocks nearly 20 miles to complete it. From similar constructs...