Comet R3 PanSTARRS Through Time
What happens to a comet as it leaves our inner Solar System? Now, the arrival of a comet into the inner Solar System is typically heralded with great fanfare and high hopes that the comet will become bright and photogenic. But on the way out, ...
Jupiter and Venus from Earth
It was visible around the world. The sunset conjunction of Jupiter (left) and Venus (right) in 2012 was visible almost no matter where you lived on Earth. Anyone on our planet with a clear western horizon at sunset could see them. That year, a ...
Charon: Moon of Pluto
A darkened and mysterious north polar region known to some as Mordor Macula caps this premier view of Charon, Pluto's largest moon. The high-resolution image was captured by the interplanetary space probe New Horizons near its closest ...
The Hydra Cluster of Galaxies
Within our own Milky Way galaxy, two bright, spiky stars stand like sentinels in the foreground of this cosmic snapshot. Far beyond them are the galaxies of the Hydra Cluster. In fact, while the spiky foreground stars are hundreds of light-years ...
A Planetary Nebula with Cosmic...
What is happening inside this unusual nebula? Planetary nebula Tc 1, captured here in exquisite detail by the James Webb Space Telescope, is the celestial site where buckyballs were first identified in 2010. Buckminsterfullerene — as ...
Andromeda Through Gas and Dust
Over 1000 years ago, Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi published humanity’s oldest known record of the Andromeda Galaxy in "The Book of Fixed Stars" (Bodleian Library MS. Marsh 144 p. 167). 800 years later, Andromeda became the ...
The Vela Supernova Remnant
The explosion is over, but the consequences continue. About twelve thousand years ago, a relatively normal star in the constellation Vela suddenly exploded, creating a strange point of light briefly visible to humans living near the beginning of ...
Saturn at Night
Telescopic views of Saturn and its beautiful rings often make it the star of star parties. But this stunning view of the outer gas gaint planet's rings and night side just isn't possible from telescopes in the vicinity of planet Earth. ...
Eagle Nebula Pillars in Infrared from...
Newborn stars are forming in the Eagle Nebula. They are gravitationally contracting in pillars of dense gas and dust. The intense radiation of these newly-formed bright stars is causing surrounding material to boil away. This image, taken with ...
Supermoon Versus Micromoon
What is so micro about tonight's blue micromoon? Just after sunset, a full moon will appear slightly smaller and dimmer than usual. The reason is that the Moon's fully illuminated phase occurs within a short time of apogee - when the ...
ISS
Buy us a coffee!
