Optical Transient Near GRB970508 Shows Distant Redshift
13.05.1997

The GRB distance scale controversy may have just ended with a flash. Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are powerful explosions occurring in seemingly random positions on the sky. They are so featureless and so poorly resolved, however, that their distances could not be determined.

The Broad Tail of PanSTARRS
30.03.2013

For northern hemisphere skygazers, fading Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) still hangs above the western horzion, after sunset but before moonrise in the coming days. Its perspective from planet Earth continues to reveal the comet's broad dust tail.

Echoes of Supernova 1987A
23.10.1997

Can you find Supernova 1987a? It's not hard - it occurred in the center of the bulls-eye pattern. Although this stellar detonation was seen more than a decade ago, light from it continues to bounce off nearby interstellar dust and be reflected to us. These two rings are thus echoes of the powerful supernova.

An Airplane in Front of the Moon
29.09.2010

If you look closely at the Moon, you will see a large airplane in front of it. Well, not always. OK, hardly ever. But if you wait for days with your camera attached to a Moon tracker in a place where airplanes are known to pass, you might catch a good photograph of it.

M81 and Arp s Loop
9.12.2010

One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky and similar in size to the Milky Way, big, beautiful spiral M81 lies 11.8 million light-years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major. This...

RCW 86: Historical Supernova Remnant
3.03.2023

In 185 AD, Chinese astronomers recorded the appearance of a new star in the Nanmen asterism. That part of the sky is identified with Alpha and Beta Centauri on modern star charts. The new star was visible to the naked-eye for months, and is now thought to be the earliest recorded supernova.

Orange Sun Sparking
6.05.2014

Our Sun has become quite a busy place. Taken only two weeks ago, the Sun was captured sporting numerous tumultuous regions including active sunspot regions AR 2036 near the image top and AR 2036 near the center.

Full Moon, Lake, and Leonids Indeed
22.11.2002

Full of itself moon - EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT ME. What's 33 years? And for those who need a story ... photographer Blake Suddeth took over a hundred digital pictures early Tuesday morning in order...

The Doubly Warped World of Binary Black Holes
16.04.2021

Light rays from accretion disks around a pair of orbiting supermassive black holes make their way through the warped space-time produced by extreme gravity in this stunning computer visualization. The simulated accretion disks have...

Eiffel Moon
17.03.2007

Celestial and terrestrial lights are featured in this stunning image that includes the Moon in phases of the total lunar eclipse of March 3rd. In the foreground, the distinctively-shaped Eiffel Tower, over 300 meters tall, is a well-known tourist destination and one of the most visited buildings in the world.