APOD: 2026 January 11 Б M104: The Sombrero Galaxy in Infrared
11.01.2026

This floating ring is the size of a galaxy. In fact, it is a galaxy -- or at least part of one: the photogenic Sombrero Galaxy, one of the largest galaxies in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.

The Interstellar Clouds of Orion
5.06.2019

The constellation of Orion is much more than three stars in a row. It is a direction in space that is rich with impressive nebulas. To better appreciate this well-known swath of sky, a new long exposure image was taken over several clear nights in January, February and March.

Space Station, Venus, Sun
20.07.2004

On June 8, Venus was not the only celestial object to pass in front of the Sun. A few well-situated photographers caught the International Space Station also crossing the Sun simultaneously. Pictured above...

Painting with Jupiter
7.04.2018

Brush strokes of Jupiter's signature atmospheric bands and vortices form this planetary post-impressionist work of art. The creative image uses actual data from the Juno spacecraft's JunoCam. To paint on the digital canvas, a image with light and dark tones was chosen for processing and an oil-painting software filter applied.

APOD: 2025 April 14 Б The Galactic Center in Radio from MeerKAT
14.04.2025

What's happening at the center of our galaxy? It's hard to tell with optical telescopes since visible light is blocked by intervening interstellar dust. In other bands of light, though, such as radio, the galactic center can be imaged and shows itself to be quite an interesting and active place.

Rocket, Meteor, and Milky Way over Thailand
12.02.2014

Can the night sky appear both serene and surreal? Perhaps classifiable as serene in the above panoramic image taken last Friday are the faint lights of small towns glowing across a dark foreground landscape of Doi Inthanon National Park in Thailand, as well as the numerous stars glowing across a dark background starscape.

Trees, Sky, Galactic Eye
29.06.2010

Is beauty in the eye of this beholder? Earlier this month, over RИunion Island in the Indian Ocean, a playful photographer with an eye for the sky took eight images and composed the above intriguing picture.

Cassini Passes Through Ice Plumes of Enceladus
13.10.2008

What telling impurities taint the ice plumes of Enceladus? To help answer this question, the robotic Cassini spacecraft dove last week to within 30 kilometers of Saturn's ice-plume emitting moon. At this closest-ever...

Atlas, Daphnis, and Pan
18.05.2019

Atlas, Daphnis, and Pan are small, inner, ring moons of Saturn. They are shown at the same scale in this montage of images by the Cassini spacecraft that made its grand final orbit of the ringed planet in September 2017. In fact, Daphnis was discovered in Cassini images from 2005.

Last Look at Plutos Charon Side
13.07.2015

Pluto surface is strange. As the robotic New Horizons barrels toward its closest approach to Pluto and its moons tomorrow, images already coming back show Pluto's surface to be curiouser and curiouser. The featured image, taken two days ago, shows the side of Pluto that always faces Pluto's largest moon Charon.