Sharpless 308: Star Bubble
31.01.2019

Blown by fast winds from a hot, massive star, this cosmic bubble is huge. Cataloged as Sharpless 2-308 it lies some 5,200 light-years away toward the constellation of the Big Dog (Canis Major) and covers slightly more of the sky than a Full Moon.

Global Map: Mars at Opposition
20.11.2020

This may be the best global Mars map made with a telescope based on planet Earth. The image data were captured by a team of observers over six long nights...

Seven Sisters versus California
5.04.2022

On the upper right, dressed in blue, is the Pleiades. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades is one of the brightest and most easily visible open clusters on the sky. The Pleiades contains over 3,000 stars, is about 400 light years away, and only 13 light years across.

Planets Over Egyptian Pyramid
4.05.2022

The early morning planet parade continues. Visible the world over, the planets Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn have been lining up in the pre-dawn sky since mid-April. In the featured image taken last month, these planets were captured over the Step Pyramid of Djoser, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

APOD: 2024 January 16 Б The Orion You Can Almost See
16.01.2024

Do you recognize this constellation? Although it is one of the most recognizable star groupings on the sky, this is a more full Orion than you can see -- an Orion only revealed with long exposure digital camera imaging and post- processing.

APOD: 2026 April 13 Б NGC 602 and Beyond
13.04.2026

The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5 million year young star cluster NGC 602.

Moonlight, Mars and Milky Way
27.06.2001

Aloha and welcome to a breath-taking skyscape. In this celestial scene, a four day old Moon illuminates a dreamlike foreground while bright planet Mars (above center) rules and the Milky Way's cosmic clouds of stars and dust seem to stretch from horizon to horizon.

M31: The Andromeda Galaxy
24.07.1995

Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. Our Galaxy is thought to look much like Andromeda. Together these two galaxies dominate the Local Group of galaxies. The diffuse light from Andromeda is caused by the hundreds of billions of stars that compose it.

Sunrise Analemma
20.03.2003

Astronomically speaking, at the Equinox on March 21, 01:00 UT (March 20, 8:00 PM ET) the season changes. For this Equinox the Sun rises due east as it crosses the celestial equator heading north. In celebration, consider this spectacular sunrise analemma!

The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
2.06.2004

The many spectacular colors of the Rho Ophiuchi (oh'-fee-yu-kee) clouds highlight the many processes that occur there. The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue light from the star Rho Ophiuchi and nearby stars reflects more efficiently off this portion of the nebula than red light.