Under the Galaxy
13.10.2017

The Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, stands above the southern horizon in this telephoto view from Las Campanas Observatory, planet Earth. In the dark September skies of the Chilean Atacama desert, the small galaxy has an impressive span of about 10 degrees or 20 Full Moons.

Earthshadow and the Beehive
3.02.2018

The Earth's dark umbral shadow is shaped like a cone extending into space. Of course its circular cross section at the distance of the Moon is more easily seen during a lunar eclipse.

APOD: 2024 April 10 Б Planets Around a Total Eclipse
10.04.2024

What wonders appear when the Moon blocks the Sun? For many eager observers of MondayБs total eclipse of the Sun, the suddenly dark sky included the expected corona and two (perhaps surprise) planets: Venus and Jupiter.

Jupiter, Io, and Shadow
26.12.2000

Just as planets orbit our Sun, Jupiter's Moons orbit Jupiter. Pictured above is the closest of Jupiter's Galilean Satellites, Io, superposed in front of the giant planet it circles. To the left of Io is a dark spot that is its own shadow.

Pluto in True Color
19.03.2001

Pluto is mostly brown. The above picture captures the true colors of Pluto as well as the highest surface resolution so far recovered. No spacecraft has yet visited this most distant planet in our Solar System.

Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System
23.07.2007

Could you survive a jump off the tallest cliff in the Solar System? Quite possibly. Verona Rupes on Uranus' moon Miranda is estimated to be 20 kilometers deep -- ten times the depth of the Earth's Grand Canyon.

Golden Comet Holmes
3.11.2007

Surprising Comet Holmes remains easily visible as a round, fuzzy cloud in the northern constellation Perseus. Skywatchers with telescopes, binoculars, or those that just decide to look up can enjoy the solar system's latest prodigy as it glides about 150 million kilometers from Earth, beyond the orbit of Mars.

Verona Rupes: Tallest Known Cliff in the Solar System
4.04.2011

Could you survive a jump off the tallest cliff in the Solar System? Quite possibly. Verona Rupes on Uranus' moon Miranda is estimated to be 20 kilometers deep -- ten times the depth of the Earth's Grand Canyon.

An Aurora of Marbles
6.02.2015

It looks like a fine collection of aggies. But this grid of embedded swirls and streaks actually follows the dramatic development of planet Earth's auroral substorms. The sequence of over 600 horizon-to-horizon fisheye images was taken over a 2 hour period near the artic circle in March of 2012 from Lapland, northern Sweden.

East to West, Light and Shadow
26.11.2016

On this November morning an old crescent Moon and morning star rise just before the Sun in a wide panoramic skyscape from Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Still below the limbs of an acacia tree and the eastern horizon, the Sun's position is easy to find though.