Planets, Great Wall, and Solar Eclipse
18.07.2009

This dramatic skyscape was recorded during the August 2008 total solar eclipse. The Moon's silhouette surrounded by a glistening solar corona hangs above the Jiayuguan Fort along the western edge of the Great Wall of China.

APOD: 2024 April 7 Б A Total Solar Eclipse over Wyoming
7.04.2024

Will the sky be clear enough to see the eclipse? This question is already on the minds of many North Americans hoping to see tomorrow's solar eclipse. This question was also on the mind of many people attempting to see the total solar eclipse that crossed North America in August 2017.

Atlantis over Rhodes
28.05.2010

A moonlit chapel stands in the foreground of this night-scape from the historic Greek island of Rhodes. The tantalizing sky above features a colorful lunar corona, where bright moonlight is diffracted by water droplets in the thin clouds drifting in front of the lunar disk.

X Ray Stars of Orion
6.10.2007

The stars of Orion shine brightly in visible light in planet Earth's night sky. The constellation harbors the closest large stellar nursery, the Great Nebula of Orion, a mere 1,500 light-years away.

Solar Flare from a Sharper Sun
21.11.2014

Solar active region AR2192 was the largest recorded sunspot group of the last 24 years. Before rotating off the Earth-facing side of the Sun at the end of October, it produced a whopping six energetic X-class flares.

Time Lapse: A Total Solar Eclipse
10.12.2012

Have you ever experienced a total eclipse of the Sun? The above time-lapse movie depicts such an eclipse in dramatic detail as visible from Australia last month. As the video begins, a slight dimming of the Sun and the surrounding Earth is barely perceptible.

The Sun in X rays from NuSTAR
28.12.2014

Why are the regions above sunspots so hot? Sunspots themselves are a bit cooler than the surrounding solar surface because the magnetic fields that create them reduce convective heating. It is therefore unusual that regions overhead -- even much higher up in the Sun's corona -- can be hundreds of times hotter.

A Total Solar Eclipse of Saros 145
11.08.2017

A darkened sky holds bright planet Venus, the New Moon in silhouette, and the shimmering corona of the Sun in this image of a total solar eclipse. A composite of simultaneous telephoto and wide angle frames it was taken in the path of totality 18 years ago, August 11, 1999, near Kastamonu, Turkey.

The Milky Way Behind an Eclipsed Moon
3.06.2003

What's behind the Moon? Each month, our Moon passes in front of -- and outshines -- many an interesting star field. Exceptions occur during a new Moon and during a total eclipse. In the background...

The Ion Tail of Comet Hyakutake
19.03.1996

This picture of Comet Hyakutake was taken on March 14, 1996. Structure in the ion tale of Comet Hyakutake is now clearly visible. An ion tale forms as a comet nears the Sun. Sunlight causes gas and dust to boil off the comet's solid nucleus.