APOD: 2026 June 2 Б The Vela Supernova Remnant
1.06.2026

The explosion is over, but the consequences continue. About twelve thousand years ago, a relatively normal star in the constellation Vela suddenly exploded, creating a strange point of light briefly visible to humans living near the beginning of recorded history.

Neutron Mars
14.03.2002

Looking for water on Mars, researchers using detectors on board the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft have created this false-color global map of energetic neutrons from the otherwise Red Planet. What do neutrons have to do with water?

Sedimentary Mars
15.08.2003

High-resolution imaging of an area in the Schiaparelli Basin of Mars on June 3 by the MGS Mars Orbiter camera produced this stunning example of layered formations within an old impact crater. On planet...

NGC 1499: California Nebula
9.03.2005

Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun also lies within the Milky Way's Orion Arm, only about 1,500 light-years from the California Nebula.

Denizen of the Tarantula Nebula
7.04.1999

The star cluster at lower right, cataloged as Hodge 301, is a denizen of the Tarantula Nebula. An evocative nebula in the southern sky, the sprawling cosmic Tarantula is an energetic star forming region some 168,000 light-years distant in our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud.

NGC 2261: Hubbles Variable Nebula
20.10.1999

What causes Hubble's Variable Nebula to vary? The unusual nebula pictured above changes its appearance noticeably in just a few weeks. Discovered over 200 years ago and subsequently cataloged as NGC 2661, the remarkable nebula is named for Edwin Hubble, who studied it earlier this century.

Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula
28.12.2009

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble -- maybe Macbeth should have consulted the Witch Head Nebula. This suggestively shaped reflection nebula on the lower left is associated with the bright star Rigel, to its right, in the constellation Orion.

Dark Sand Cascades on Mars
18.01.2010

They might look like trees on Mars, but they're not. Groups of dark brown streaks have been photographed by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on melting pinkish sand dunes covered with light frost. The above image was taken in 2008 April near the North Pole of Mars.

M13: The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
27.05.2010

In 1716, English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, "This is but a little Patch, but it shews it self to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent." Of course...

NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
4.10.2012

A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. Its last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution.