Red Sun through Wildfire Smoke
30.07.2026

This could be the view from an exoplanet orbiting around a red dwarf star, but it is our own Sun. This image was taken on July 22, 2026, in the Okanagan region in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Block Island Meteorite on Mars
13.08.2009

What is this strange rock on Mars? Sitting on a smooth plane, the rock stands out for its isolation, odd shape, large size and unusual texture. The rock was discovered by the robotic Opportunity rover rolling across Mars late last month. Pictured above, Opportunity prepares to inspect the unusual rock.

GRACE Maps the Gravity of Earth
23.07.2003

Why do some places on Earth have higher gravity than others? Sometimes the reason is unknown. To help better understand the Earth's surface, slight distance changes between a pair of identically orbiting satellites named GRACE have been used to create the best ever map of Earth's gravitational field.

APOD: 2023 May 9 Б Shadows of Earth
9.05.2023

Can you find two Earth shadows in today's image? It's a bit tricky. To find the first shadow, observe that the top part of the atmosphere appears pink and the lower part appears blue. This is because the top half is exposed to direct sunlight, while the lower part is not.

Noctilucent Clouds Over Germany
24.06.2009

Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above.

Moonrise Through Mauna Keas Shadow
5.12.2010

How can the Moon rise through a mountain? It cannot -- what was photographed here is a moonrise through the shadow of a large volcano. The volcano is Mauna Kea, Hawai'i, USA, a frequent spot for spectacular photographs since it is arguably the premier observing location on planet Earth.

A Cliff Looming on Comet 67P
20.05.2015

What that looming behind this gravel-strewn hill on Comet ChuryumovGerasimenko? A jagged cliff. The unusual double-lobed nucleus of Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko lends itself to unusual and dramatic vistas, another of which has been captured by the Rosetta spacecraft that arrived at the comet last September.

Aurora over Clouds
24.11.2015

Auroras usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow is created when fast-moving particles ejected from the Sun impact the Earth's magnetosphere, from which charged particles spiral along the Earth's magnetic field to strike atoms and molecules high in the Earth's atmosphere.

The Milky Way Over the Arizona Toadstools
22.02.2015

Which is older -- the rocks you see on the ground or the light you see from the sky? Usually its the rocks that are older, with their origin sentiments deposited well before light left any of the stars or nebulas you see in the sky.

A Rare Annular Venusian Solar Eclipse
15.06.2004

An unusual type of solar eclipse occurred last week. Usually it is the Earth's Moon that eclipses the Sun. Last week, for the first time in over 100 years, the planet Venus took a turn.