Mojave Desert Fireball
17.12.2009

Monstrously bright, this fireball meteor lit up the Mojave Desert sky Monday morning, part of this year's impressive Geminid meteor shower. Seen toward the southwest over rock formations near Victorville, California, a more familiar celestial background was momentarily washed out by the meteor's flash.

APOD: 2025 February 26 Б Einstein Ring Surrounds Nearby Galaxy Center
26.02.2025

Do you see the ring? If you look very closely at the center of the featured galaxy NGC 6505, a ring becomes evident. It is the gravity of NGC 6505, the nearby (z = 0.042)...

APOD: 2008 January 2- A Galaxy is not a Comet
2.01.2008

This gorgeous galaxy and comet portrait was recorded on December 30th, in the skies over Hoogeveen, The Netherlands. The combined series of 60 x 60 second exposures finds the lovely green coma of Comet 8P/Tuttle near its predicted conjunction with the Triangulum Galaxy.

Leonids Over Korean Observatory
12.12.2001

There were two peaks to this year's Leonid Meteor Shower. The first peak was best seen during the early morning hours of November 18 in North America, while the second peak, almost twice the intensity of the first, occurred eight hours later and was best seen from Asia.

A Network of Microlensing Caustics
15.12.2002

A virtual sky map like this would be of interest to astronomers studying gravitational microlensing. In microlensing, the gravity of stars near the line of sight can act to magnify the light of background objects such as distant stars, or quasars. Nowhere is this magnification greater than near a gravitational lensing caustic.

APOD: 2020 August 13 Б Jupiter and Saturn Rising Beyond Alien Throne Rock
13.08.2020

Whatбplanets are those behind that unusualбrock spire? Saturn (lower left) and Jupiter.б This month, after sunset, the bright planetary duo are quite prominent toward the southeast.б Now your view of our Solar...

Ring Around the Cluster
4.01.1999

It is difficult to hide a galaxy behind a cluster of galaxies. The closer cluster's gravity will act like a huge lens, pulling images of the distant galaxy around the sides and greatly distorting them. This is just the case observed in the above recently released image from the VLT.

A Network of Microlensing Caustics
24.08.1999

A virtual sky map like this would be of interest to astronomers studying gravitational microlensing. In microlensing, the gravity of stars near the line of sight can act to magnify the light of background objects such as distant stars, or quasars. Nowhere is this magnification greater than near a gravitational lensing caustic.

SDSSJ1430: A Galaxy Einstein Ring
28.07.2008

What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above on the left, the gravity of a normal white galaxy has gravitationally distorted the light from a much more distant blue galaxy.

Milky Way Over Quiver Tree Forest
15.05.2016

In front of a famous background of stars and galaxies lies some of Earth's more unusual trees. Known as quiver trees, they are actually succulent aloe plants that can grow to tree-like proportions. The quiver tree name is derived from the historical usefulness of their hollowed branches as dart holders.