APOD Is Ten Years Old Today
16.06.2005

Welcome to the eleventh year of Astronomy Picture of the Day! In a decade of editing the APOD web pages, the industrious Robert Nemiroff (left) and persistent Jerry Bonnell (right) have enjoyed exploring compelling...

APOD: 2025 January 22 Б The North America Nebula
22.01.2025

The North America nebula on the sky can do what the North America continent on Earth cannot -- form stars. Specifically, in analogy to the Earth-confined continent, the bright part that appears as the east coast is actually a hot bed of gas, dust, and newly formed stars known as the Cygnus Wall.

APOD: 2025 February 4 Б Anticrepuscular Rays: A Rainbow Fan over Spain
4.02.2025

Yes, but can your rainbow do this? Late in the day, the Sun set as usual toward the west. However, on this day, the more interesting display was 180 degrees around -- toward the east. There, not only was a rainbow visible, but an impressive display of anticrepuscular rays from the rainbow's center.

Lightning Eclipse from the Planet of the Goats
18.06.2011

Thunderstorms almost spoiled this view of the spectacular June 15 total lunar eclipse. Instead, storm clouds parted for 10 minutes during the total eclipse phase and lightning bolts contributed to the dramatic sky. Captured...

APOD: 2024 December 15 Б Geminid Meteors over a Snowy Forest
15.12.2024

Meteors have been flowing out from the constellation Gemini. This was expected, as mid-December is the time of the Geminid Meteor Shower. Pictured here, over two dozen meteors were caught in successively added exposures taken over several hours early Saturday morning from a snowy forest in Poland.

APOD: 2024 December 29 Б Methane Bubbles Frozen in Lake Baikal
29.12.2024

What are these bubbles frozen into Lake Baikal? Methane. Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia, is the world's largest (by volume), oldest, and deepest lake, containing over 20% of the world's fresh water.

APOD: 2025 April 8 Б Moon Visits Sister Stars
8.04.2025

Sometimes, the Moon visits the Pleiades. Technically, this means that the orbit of our Moon takes it directly in front of the famous Pleiades star cluster, which is far in the distance. The technical...

APOD: 2025 July 7 Б Interstellar Comet 3I ATLAS
7.07.2025

It came from outer space. An object from outside our Solar System is now passing through at high speed. Classified as a comet because of its gaseous coma, 3I/ATLAS is only the third identified macroscopic object as being so alien.

APOD is Two Years Old Today
16.06.1997

The first Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) appeared two years ago today. Pictured above is a scene surrounding the creation of an early APOD, depicting the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe demonstrating a celestial globe to Emperor Rudolph II. The image of a possible optical counterpart to a gamma-ray burst appears on the back wall.

APOD is 15 Years Old Today
16.06.2010

Welcome to the quindecennial year of the Astronomy Picture of the Day! Perhaps a source of web consistency for some, APOD is still here. As during each of the 15 years of selecting images...