APOD: 2025 August 7 Б The Double Cluster in Perseus
6.08.2025

This stunning starfield spans about three full moons (1.5 degrees) across the heroic northern constellation of Perseus. It holds the famous pair of open star clusters, h and Chi Persei. Also cataloged...

The Big Corona
15.09.1999

Most photographs don't adequately portray the magnificence of the Sun's corona. Seeing the corona first-hand during a total solar eclipse is best. The human eye can adapt to see features and extent that photographic film usually cannot. Welcome, however, to the digital age.

The Nebra Sky Disk
18.03.2018

It is considered the oldest known illustration of the night sky. But what, exactly, does it depict, and why was it made? The Nebra sky disk was found with a metal detector in 1999 by treasure hunters near Nebra, Germany, in the midst of several bronze-age weapons.

NGC 7814: Little Sombrero
22.01.2025

Point your telescope toward the high flying constellation Pegasus and you can find this cosmic expanse of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies. NGC 7814 is centered in the sharp field of view that would almost be covered by a full moon.

Miranda
18.02.1998

Miranda is a bizarre world which surely had a tempestuous past. The innermost of the larger Uranian moons, Miranda is almost 300 miles in diameter and was discovered only 50 years ago (February 16, 1948) by the renown American planetary astronomer Gerard Kuiper.

A Newly Active Volcano On Jupiters Io
16.10.2001

Would a volcano plume discovered in January above Jupiter's Moon Io still be active months later? To answer this question, the robot spacecraft Galileo currently in orbit around Jupiter was maneuvered to image the plume site during its recent flyby of Io in August.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 300
21.08.2002

NGC 300 is so interesting because it is so normal. An Sc-type spiral galaxy in the nearby Sculptor group of galaxies, NGC 300 shows typical flowing blue spiral arms, an expected compact nucleus, and the requisite amount of stars, star clusters, and nebulae.

IRTF: Scanning the Infrared Skies
4.09.1996

Above, NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) poses in front of a starry background. Located on top of Hawaii's towering volcano Mauna Kea, the IRTF is the premier telescope for observing in near infrared light. This 3-meter telescope was established in 1979 and spends about half its time observing Solar System objects.

Three Views of Jupiter's Io
3.10.1996

The Galileo spacecraft orbiting Jupiter continues to return impressive results. The Galileo team has just released three more photographs of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io taken in June. These three photos are reflected at the bottom of the above picture, digitally enhanced to better show important features.

Io: The Prometheus Plume
18.08.1997

Two sulfurous eruptions are visible on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io in this color composite Galileo image. On the left, over Io's limb, a new bluish plume rises about 86 miles above the surface of a volcanic caldera known as Pillan Patera.