APOD: 2023 September 3 Б Comet Schwassmann Wachmann 3 Fragments
3.09.2023

Periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has broken up at least twice. A cosmic souffle of ice and dust left over from the early solar system, this comet was first seen to split into several large pieces during the close-in part of its orbit in 1995.

A Sky Filled with Leonids
5.12.2001

In the early morning hours of November 19, amateur Chen Huang-Ming caught a sky filled with astronomical wonders. With his fisheye camera set up on Ho-Huan Mountain in Taiwan for a half-hour exposure, he started the above image a local time of 2:33 am.

Sputnik Planum vs. Krun Macula
18.06.2016

Pluto's pitted plains meet rugged highlands in this stunning view. On the left lies a southeastern extent of the bright region still informally known as Sputnik Planum. At right the edge of a dark region, informally Krun Macula, rises some 2.5 kilometers above the icy plains.

Video: Flash on Jupiter
17.09.2021

There has been a flash on Jupiter. A few days ago, several groups monitoring our Solar System's largest planet noticed a two-second long burst of light. Such flashes have been seen before, with the most famous being a series of impactor strikes in 1994.

Newton Crater: Evidence for Recent Water on Mars
26.06.2000

What could have formed these unusual channels? Inside a small crater that lies inside large Newton Crater on Mars, numerous narrow channels run from the top down to the crater floor. The above picture covers a region spanning about 3000 meters across.

Mapping Mars
19.03.1999

This month, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft began its primary mission to the red planet. Orbiting about once every two hours at an altitude of over 200 miles, instruments onboard MGS now regularly explore the Martian surface and atmosphere.

Night Shining Clouds
5.07.2007

Alluring noctilucent or night-shining clouds lie near the edge of space, some 80 kilometers above Earth's surface. Of course, when viewed from space the clouds are more properly called polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) -- seen here for the first time in image data from the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite.

APOD: 2025 September 7 Б All the Water on Planet Earth
7.09.2025

How much of planet Earth is made of water? Very little, actually. Although oceans of water cover about 70 percent of Earth's surface, these oceans are shallow compared to the Earth's radius.

The Coldest Place on Earth
11.12.2013

How cold can it get on Earth? In the interior of the Antarctica, a record low temperature of -93.2 C (-135.8 F) has been recorded. This is about 25 C (45 F) colder than the coldest lows noted for any place humans live permanently.

Comet Hale-Bopp Over Val Parola Pass
17.03.1997

Comet Hale-Bopp is now much brighter than any surrounding stars. It can be seen even over bright city lights. Out away from city lights, however, it is putting on quite a spectacular show. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed last week above Val Parola Pass in the Dolomite mountains surrounding Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.