A 10 000 Kilometer Galactic Bridge
2.06.2022

With this creative astro-collaboration you can follow the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy as it bridges northern and southern hemisphere skies. To construct the expansive composite nightscape, skies over Observatorio El Sauce...

Comet Hale-Bopp and the Dumbbell Nebula
19.02.1997

Comet Hale-Bopp is now slowly moving across the morning sky. During its trip to our inner Solar System, the comet passes in front of several notable objects. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed on February 11th superposed nearly in front of the picturesque Dumbbell Nebula, visible on the upper right.

Eclipsed in Southern Skies
30.09.2015

This stunning panorama in southern skies was recorded on the colorful night of September 27/28 from Carngegie Las Campanas Observatory. A diffuse glow and dark rifts of the central Milky Way hang over domes of the twin 6.5 meter Magellan telescopes. But most eye-catching is the deep red glow of the Moon.

Zodiacal Light Vs Milky Way
11.02.2009

Two fundamental planes of planet Earth's sky compete for attention in this remarkable wide-angle vista, recorded on January 23rd. Arcing above the horizon and into the night at the left is a beautiful band of Zodiacal Light - sunlight scattered by dust in the solar system's ecliptic plane.

Comet Bradfield Rising
27.04.2004

Comet Bradfield has become quite a sight just before sunrise -- for those with binoculars or cameras. Although fading noticeably each day, a sky chart, a northern location, and some persistence will allow curious sky gazers to locate the cosmic snowball and its spectacular tail.

APOD: 2025 September 10 Б The Great Lacerta Nebula
9.09.2025

It is one of the largest nebulas on the sky -- why isn't it better known? Roughly the same angular size as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Lacerta Nebula can be found toward the constellation of the Lizard (Lacerta).

Dueling Bands in the Night
28.02.2022

What are these two bands in the sky? The more commonly seen band is the one on the right and is the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. Our Sun orbits...

APOD: 2023 December 27 Б Rainbow Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall
26.12.2023

Yes, but can your aurora do this? First, yes, auroras can look like rainbows even though they are completely different phenomena. Auroras are caused by Sun-created particles being channeled into Earth's atmosphere by Earth's magnetic field, and create colors by exciting atoms at different heights.

APOD: 2026 May 14 Б The Messier Catalog at Uniform Scale
13.05.2026

What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky? Armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the very popular objects in the Messier Catalog.

Irregular Galaxy Sextans A
13.11.1997

Grand spiral galaxies often seem to get all the glory. Their newly formed, bright, blue star clusters found along beautiful, symmetric spiral arms are guaranteed to attract attention. But small irregular galaxies form stars too, like this lovely, gumdrop-shaped galaxy, Sextans A.