Hale-Bopp Brightest Comet This Decade
13.03.1997

The Great Comet of 1997 is now brighter than the Great Comet of 1996 ever was. In fact, it is brighter than almost every star in the sky. Yet Comet Hale-Bopp is still about two weeks away from maximum light.

Artificial Night Sky Brightness
27.08.2001

Where have all the dim stars gone? From many places on the Earth including major cities, the night sky has been reduced from a fascinating display of hundreds of stars to a diffuse glow through which only a handful of stars are visible.

Auroras and Star Trails over Iceland
18.05.2015

It was one of the quietest nights of aurora in weeks. Even so, in northern- Iceland during last November, faint auroras lit up the sky every clear night. The featured 360-degree panorama is the digital fusion of four wide-angle cameras each simultaneously taking 101 shots over 42 minutes.

APOD: 2023 March 8 Б Artificial Night Sky Brightness
8.03.2023

Where have all the dim stars gone? From many places on the Earth including major cities, the night sky has been reduced from a fascinating display of thousands of stars to a diffuse glow through which only a few stars are visible.

Moons and Bright Mars
1.08.2003

In this serene view, the moons of Earth along with the bright planet Mars shine above the city of Turku near the southwestern tip of Finland. Of course Earth's large natural satellite, the Moon, at a distance of 400,000 kilometers, is by far the brightest object in this sky.

APOD: 2024 February 18 Б Hoags Object: A Nearly Perfect Ring Galaxy
18.02.2024

Is this one galaxy or two? This question came to light in 1950 when astronomer Arthur Hoag chanced upon this unusual extragalactic object. On the outside is a ring dominated by bright blue stars, while near the center lies a ball of much redder stars that are likely much older.

Hoags Object: A Nearly Perfect Ring Galaxy
27.11.2019

Is this one galaxy or two? This question came to light in 1950 when astronomer Arthur Hoag chanced upon this unusual extragalactic object. On the outside is a ring dominated by bright blue stars, while near the center lies a ball of much redder stars that are likely much older.

Deep Orion Over the Canary Islands
23.01.2012

Which attracts your eye more -- the sky or the ground? On the ground are rocky peaks in Teide National Park on Tenerife Island of the Spanish Canary Islands off the northwestern coast of Africa. The volcanic landscape features old island summits and is sometimes used as a testbed for instruments on future Martian rovers.

Warped Sky: Star Trails Panorama
13.06.2007

What's happened to the sky? A time warp, of sorts, and a digital space warp too. The time warp occurs because the above image captured in a single frame a four hour exposure of the night sky. Prominent and picturesque star trails are visible.

IC 1805: Light from the Heart
17.09.2004

Sprawling across hundreds of light-years, emission nebula IC 1805 is a mix of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds. Only about 7,500 light-years away, stars were born in this region whose nickname - the Heart Nebula - derives from its suggestive shape (seen here sideways).