Solar Surfin
16.07.1999

The sun's corona is a tenuous outer atmosphere composed of streams of energetic charged particles, but it is only easily seen from Earth during a total solar eclipse. For example, this 1991 image of totality from atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii forms a fleeting snapshot of the mysterious corona's beautiful, intricate structures and streams.

A Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana
5.05.2013

Is that a spaceship or a cloud? Although it may seem like an alien mothership, it's actually a impressive thunderstorm cloud called a supercell. Such colossal storm systems center on mesocyclones -- rotating updrafts that can span several kilometers and deliver torrential rain and high winds including tornadoes.

The Ghostly Tail of Comet SWAN
6.11.2006

What causes the structure in Comet SWAN's tail? Comet SWAN, which unexpectedly flared up to naked-eye brightness last week, has been showing detail in its ion tail that might be described as ghostly.

NGC 6888: The Crescent Nebula
17.06.2021

NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a about 25 light-years across blown by winds from its central, bright, massive star. A triumvirate of astroimagers ( Joe, Glenn, Russell) created this sharp portrait of the cosmic bubble.

APOD: 2025 November 17 Б Comet Lemmons Wandering Tail
17.11.2025

What has happened to Comet Lemmon's tail? The answer is blowing in the wind Б the wind from the Sun in this case. This continuous outflow of charged particles from...

The Long Jet of the Lighthouse Nebula
21.02.2014

The Lighthouse nebula was formed by the wind of a pulsar, a rapidly rotating, magnetized neutron star, as it speeds through the interstellar medium at over 1,000 kilometers per second. Some...

A Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana
26.02.2017

Is that a spaceship or a cloud? Although it may seem like an alien mothership, it's actually a impressive thunderstorm cloud called a supercell. Such colossal storm systems center on mesocyclones -- rotating updrafts that can span several kilometers and deliver torrential rain and high winds including tornadoes.

APOD: 2026 January 12 Б Meteor Dust
12.01.2026

What's happening to this meteor? It is shedding its outer layers as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere and heats up. The sudden high temperatures not only cause the bright glow along the dramatic streak but also melt and vaporize the meteor's component rock and ice, creating dust.

The Dunes Of Mars
14.08.1998

The North Pole of Mars is ringed by a "sea of sand dunes". For Mars' Northern Hemisphere, Spring began in mid July and increased sunlight is now shrinking the polar cap revealing the wind-swept dunes to the cameras onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft.

APOD: 2025 October 14 Б An Unusual Globule in IC 1396
14.10.2025

Is there a monster in IC 1396? Known to some as the Elephant's Trunk Nebula, parts of gas and dust clouds of this star formation region may appear to take on foreboding forms, some nearly human. The only real monster here, however, is a bright young star too far from Earth to hurt us.