APOD: 2024 August 20 Б Supermoon Beyond the Temple of Poseidon
20.08.2024

A supermoon occurred yesterday. And tonight's moon should also look impressive. Supermoons appear slightly larger and brighter than most full moons because they reach their full phase when slightly nearer to the Earth -- closer than 90 percent of all full moons.

APOD: 2025 February 11 Б The Spider and the Fly
11.02.2025

Will the spider ever catch the fly? Not if both are large emission nebulas toward the constellation of the Charioteer (Auriga). The spider-shaped gas cloud in the image center is actually an emission nebula...

APOD: 2023 August 20 Б A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
20.08.2023

What kind of cloud is this? A type of arcus cloud called a roll cloud. These rare long clouds may form near advancing cold fronts. In particular, a downdraft from an advancing storm front can cause moist warm air to rise, cool below its dew point, and so form a cloud.

APOD: 2026 March 13 Б Toolondo Totality Trails
13.03.2026

In this composited night skyscape, stacked exposures trace graceful star trails above Lake Toolondo, Victoria, Australia, planet Earth. Captured while the lunar eclipse of March 3 was in progress, the exposures used were made during the hour-long total eclipse phase.

APOD Turns Eight
16.06.2003

The first APOD appeared eight years ago today, on 1995 June 16. To date, we estimate that APOD has now served over 100 million space-related images. We again thank our readers and NASA...

APOD: 2025 May 5 Б Planet Lines Across Water
5.05.2025

WhatБs causing those lines? Objects in the sky sometimes appear reflected as lines across water Б but why? If the waterБs surface is smooth, then reflected objects would appear similarly -- as spots.

APOD: 2026 May 1 Б Markarian s Chain
1.05.2026

Near the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster, a string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain stretches across this telescopic field of view. Anchored in the frame at bottom right by prominent lenticular galaxies, M84 (bottom) and M86, you can follow the chain's gentle arc up and toward the left.

APOD Heatmap
16.06.2014

The first APOD appeared 19 years ago today. To help celebrate, APOD brings you today an all-sky heatmap of (nearly) 19 years of APOD entries. The brighter a region appears on the above heatmap, the more APODs that occur in that region.

APOD: 2026 February 22 Б Shadow of a Martian Robot
22.02.2026

What if you saw your shadow on Mars and it wasn't human? Then you might be the Opportunity rover exploring Mars. Opportunity explored the Red Planet from 2004 to 2018, finding evidence of ancient water, and sending breathtaking images across the inner Solar System.

APOD: 2023 October 16 Б Eclipse Rings
16.10.2023

She knew everything but the question. She was well aware that there would be a complete annular eclipse of the Sun visible from their driving destination: Lake Abert in Oregon. She knew that the next ring-of-fire eclipse would occur in the USA only in 16 more years, making this a rare photographic opportunity.