Roque de los Muchachos Observatory
19.08.2002

Above the clouds, atop an island off the coast of Africa, a group of cutting-edge telescopes inspects the universe. Pictured above are telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain. The site is one of the premier observing locations on Earth.

The Suns Surface in 3D
24.06.2003

How smooth is the Sun? The new Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, deployed in the Canary Islands only last year, allows imaging of objects less than 100-km across on the Sun's surface. When pointed toward the Sun's edge, surface objects now begin to block each other, indicating true three-dimensional information.

Clouds, Comet, and Crescent Moon
14.03.2013

In silhouette against the colorful evening twilight glow, clouds part in this much anticipated magic moment. The scene captures naked-eye Comet PanSTARRS peeking into northern hemisphere skies on March 12. The comet stands over the western horizon after sunset, joined by the thin, flattened crescent of a day old Moon.

APOD: 2026 May 5 Б Orion over Mount Teide
5.05.2026

Orion is rarely seen like this. To achieve this majestic vista, you need a camera capable of taking such long duration exposures that faint features in the night sky become revealed. Iconic nebulas that appear include the Orion Nebula, the Flame Nebula, and Barnard's Loop.

Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
4.06.2018

These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens.

APOD: 2023 December 3 Б Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
3.12.2023

These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens.

APOD: 2026 May 11 Б Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
11.05.2026

These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens.

In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
30.06.2008

Clouds of glowing gas mingle with lanes of dark dust in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius. In the center, the three huge dark dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together.

Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
22.03.2020

These people are not in danger. What is coming down from the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens.

Gigagalaxy Zoom: Milky Way
26.09.2009

Our magnificent Milky Way Galaxy sprawls across this ambitious all-sky panorama. In fact, at 800 million pixels the full resolution mosaic strives to show all the stars the eye can see in planet Earth's night sky.