A Perseid Below
9.08.2024

Denizens of planet Earth typically watch meteor showers by looking up. But this remarkable view, captured on August 13, 2011 by astronaut Ron Garan, caught a Perseid meteor by looking down. From Garan...

Moon Meets Jupiter
10.07.2016

What's that next to the Moon? Jupiter -- and its four largest moons. Skygazers around planet Earth enjoyed the close encounter of planets and Moon in 2012 July 15's predawn skies. And while...

APOD: 2026 July 17 Б The Dust Trail of Comet Tempel 2
17.07.2026

Comet 10P/Tempel 2 orbits the Sun once every 5.4 years. Currently visible in binoculars or small telescopes toward the constellation Capricornus, the periodic comet is captured in this sharp telescopic image from July 11 sporting a bright nuclear region and pretty greenish coma.

A Dark Earth with a Red Sprite
20.12.2015

There is something very unusual in this picture of the Earth -- can you find it? A fleeting phenomenon once thought to be only a legend has been newly caught if you know just where to look.

Jupiters Europa from Spacecraft Galileo
27.09.2016

What mysteries might be solved by peering into this crystal ball? In this case, the ball is actually a moon of Jupiter, the crystals are ice, and the moon is not only dirty but cracked beyond repair. Nevertheless, speculation is rampant that oceans exist under Europa's fractured ice-plains that could support life.

Mars, Ceres, Vesta
10.04.2014

That bright, ruddy star you've recently noticed rising just after sunset isn't a star at all. That's Mars, the Red Planet. Mars is now near its 2014 opposition (April 8) and closest approach (April 14), looping through the constellation Virgo opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky.

Bright Sun and Crescent Earth from the Space Station
30.11.2009

This was just one more breathtaking view from the International Space Station. The Sun, a crescent Earth, and the long arm of a solar panel were all visible outside a window when the Space Shuttle Atlantis visited the orbiting outpost last week. Reflections from the window and hexagonal lens flares from the camera are superposed.

A Conjunction of Crescents
8.02.2025

A waxing crescent Moon and a waning crescent Venus are found at opposite corners of this twilight telephoto field of view. The close conjunction of the two brightest celestial beacons in planet Earth's western evening sky was captured on February 1 from Rosario, Argentina.

The Diner at the Center of the Galaxy
30.12.2011

The monster at the center of our Galaxy is about to get fed. Recent observations by the Very Large Telescopes indicate that a cloud of gas will venture too close to the supermassive black hole at the Galactic center.

Astro 1 In Orbit
17.08.1997

In December of 1990, the Space Shuttle Columbia carried an array of astronomical telescopes high above the Earth's obscuring atmosphere to observe the Universe at ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. The telescopes, known...