Fox Fur, a Unicorn, and a Christmas Tree
25.12.2008

Clouds of glowing hydrogen gas fill this colorful skyscape in the faint but fanciful constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. A star forming region cataloged as NGC 2264, the complex jumble of cosmic gas and dust...

Humanity Explores the Solar System
30.04.2013

What spacecraft is humanity currently using to explore our Solar System? Presently, every inner planet has at least one robotic explorer, while several others are monitoring our Sun, some are mapping Earth's Moon, a few are chasing asteroids and comets, one is orbiting Saturn, and several are even heading out into deep space.

Two Custers and a Comet
30.01.2020

This lovely starfield spans some four full moons (about 2 degrees) across the heroic northern constellation of Perseus. In telescopic exposures made during the nights of January 24, 26, and 28 it holds...

Optical Transient Near GRB970508 Shows Distant Redshift
13.05.1997

The GRB distance scale controversy may have just ended with a flash. Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are powerful explosions occurring in seemingly random positions on the sky. They are so featureless and so poorly resolved, however, that their distances could not be determined.

Other Worlds and HD 38529
10.08.2000

After the latest round of discovery announcements, the list of known worlds of distant suns has grown to 50. While extrasolar planet discoveries are sure to continue, none - so far - points clearly to another planetary system like our own. Take, for example, the newly discovered parent star HD38529.

The Crab that Played with the Planet
10.01.2003

Wandering through the constellation Taurus, Saturn made its closest approach to planet Earth last month, tilting its lovely rings toward appreciative skygazers while rising high in midnight skies. On January 4th and 5th, Saturn...

Volcano Euboea Fluctus On Io
8.09.1996

Jupiter's moon Io is turning out to be our Solar System's geologic powerhouse. The churning moon was photographed again just recently on June 27th and again shows signs of violent activity. Shown above are photographs of the volcano Euboea Fluctus taken at different times.

Io over Jupiter from Voyager 1
4.09.2016

Back in 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft flew past Jupiter and its moons. The images in this mosaic, featuring the moon Io against a background of gas giant Jupiter's diffuse swirling cloud bands, were recorded by Voyager's camera from a distance of about 8.3 million kilometers.

Over Saturns Turbulent North Pole
12.12.2016

The Cassini spacecraft's Grand Finale at Saturn has begun. The Grand Finale will allow Cassini to explore Saturn and some of Saturn's moons and rings in unprecedented detail. The first phase started...

A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun
9.05.2022

What's that passing in front of the Sun? It looks like a moon, but it can't be Earth's Moon, because it isn't round. It's the Martian moon Phobos. The featured video was taken from the surface of Mars a month ago by the Perseverance rover.